Growing together, growing apart
by Raelyn33
Summary: Orochimaru and Itachi dead, Sasuke is back in Konoha and things develop between him and Naruto. With missions and the chunin exams approaching, what will happen between these two shinobi? I suck at summaries. Warnings: boy love and naughtiness, spoiler
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Hey All! This is my first fanfic. I figured I read so much that I might as well give it a try. My favorite pair is actually Shika/Tema, but this is what my muse gave me so I just worked with it. Please let me know what you think and if I should continue. 

Pairings: Sasu/Naru/Sasu, Shika/Tema, open to other pairing suggestions.

Warnings: Sasu/Naru/Sasu, boy love, lemons and spoilers for the manga.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and make no profit off this fanfic

"speach"  
_thoughts_  
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Sakura walked through the village on her way to the Uchiha district early one morning. She had been sent by the Hokage to fetch Sasuke while Sai was on his way to retrieve Naruto. As she hurried to Sasuke's home, she found herself excited that she would have some time alone with the young Uchiha. She told herself that she didn't still have the silly crush from her girlhood for Sasuke. Of course not, cause she was a young woman now and had grown to see other men around her and appreciate them. As such, she knew that what she felt for the raven haired man was a true grown up love instead of her infatuation when they were younger.

While Sasuke had been gone training with Orochimaru and later hunting Itachi after killing the Snake Sannin, Sakura had grown to care deeply for Naruto who had also grown stronger. Though he would never strike her as mature, she could respect and care for him as never before. She had contemplated starting a relationship with him, but something always held her back. A feeling that she needed more. Sasuke had always been her vision of perfection, and she just never could bring herself to take another man seriously to the point of a romantic relationship.

She remembered several months ago when Team Kakashi and Team 8 had gone out hunting Sasuke after they received word of Orochimaru's death. They found Sasuke and his team, Hebi, just at the end of his battle and defeat of Itachi. After helping heal the injuries Hebi sustained, Sakura who hadn't been paying attention to anything at the time but healing a gash in Karin's arm, was surprised when Naruto suddenly walked up to Sasuke and punched him on the shoulder.

"Come on bastard, it's time to go home."

Sasuke, who looked like he was just rudely brought back to reality, merely sneered back, "I have no home."

Amazingly, Naruto didn't look surprised, just angry by Sasuke's statement. "Yes, you have a home, and a family, and it has missed you. I'll kick your ass if I have to, but you're coming back to Konoha."

Needless to say, they ended up beating the crap out of each other, and after they finally exhausted themselves, Kakashi and Yamato picked them both up and carried them back to Konoha. Hebi disbanded; Karin and Suigetsu deciding to go their separate ways and Juugo chose to follow the Konoha shinobi as he had nowhere else to go. He managed to integrate fairly well; Shizune was working with him to learn to control himself so he would no longer be a danger to himself and others.

Upon his return, Sasuke was put through interrogation by Ibiki to determine if he could ever be considered loyal to the village again. It was then decided that Sasuke would remain in the village with no more than C ranked missions for six months at which time his situation would be re-evaluated. It was not stated what he would never do again, just that Tsunade and the Council needed time to thoroughly decide the Uchiha's fate.

Sakura and Naruto had also stayed mostly in the village since on small missions. She continued working with the Hokage and in the hospital while he continued his training with Kakashi improving his wind techniques. Sasuke, though occasionally dragged around by Naruto, mainly kept to himself and didn't seem to try to make any friends. Not that this was any different from his behavior in their genin days, so Sakura was not particuarly worried. Lately, the Hokage and been grouping the former Team 7 together again for little missions around the village. Tsunade said that she wanted to see if Sasuke would work well with others and she might as well test him with his former teammates. Apparently, they were now considering allowing him to go out on B rank missions with the newly reformed team.

It seemed to be going well and Sakura thought about how the previous night they had finished helping with some farm work just outside the village. At the end, she had turned to Sasuke and asked if he would like to walk with her back and perhaps grab some food. He had declined and started to walk alone. She turned to Naruto with a small smile but was surprised to see a look of almost pity on his face. They started walking together towards the village.

"Sakura-chan, you're not still in love with Sasuke are you?"

"I believe so...after everything that has happened, I still feel so strongly about him. I've grown up and I realize he's not perfect, but I can't help my feelings. I know he probably won't ever return them...he's so cold all the time, but if he would just let himself be loved..." she trailed off looking miserable.

Strangely, Naruto looked miserable as well. "I'm sorry Sakura, I didn't realize you still felt that way."

Surprised by how solemn he sounded, but thinking that Naruto was feeling rejected cause of how he was always flirting with her during their childhood, Sakura replied, "It's ok Naruto, you know, you're special to me too. I just want the people I care about to be happy."

Naruto gave her a small smile. "Come on Sakura-chan, let me take you to dinner." They had just arrived at the village gates. "No thanks. It's getting late and I'm actually tired." She then continued walking home leaving Naruto behind. She felt bad that she couldn't love him as anything more than a brother. He had grown stronger, and handsome, and didn't act so much as a nuissance. But when she saw him, a part of her always saw the child he had been and how annoying she had found him. Just as when she always looked at Sasuke, she always saw the boy she had loved.

And here she was now, standing outside Sasuke's home about to knock on the door when she felt two chakra signatures inside. Trying the door and finding it unlocked, she walked in and headed towards where she felt the two. As she neared what she thought must be Sasuke's bedroom, she was able to make out that the two individuals that she sensed were Sasuke and Naruto.

_What's Naruto doing here this time of the morning? _she thought to herself.

When she was right outside the partially open door, she heard a voice from inside call out. "What do you want Sakura?" She thought that Sasuke sounded more irrated than usual.

"Um...Tsunade-sama told me to get you for a meeting that we'll be having."

"Ok, I'll be there in a few minutes" Sasuke replied.

Deciding there was no reason to pretend that she hadn't sensed him, "Naruto, you're supposed to come as well. Sai went to your apartment to fetch you."

There was a moment of silence and then Naruto answered from inside, "Thanks Sakura-chan. Umm...I'll be there soon too."

Something was making her uncomfortable about how uneasy Naruto sounded. "Naruto, why don't you come with me now? You shouldn't be bothering Sasuke-kun this early anyways." As she said this she started to open the door further and look inside. She was shocked to see both Sasuke and Naruto, apparently naked under the sheets, on Sasuke's bed. Naruto was sitting at the edge of the bed with his back to her and pulling up his boxers when she entered the doorway. He turned his head to face her and the look on his face was the picture of embarrassment.

"Sakura-chan!!" he cried as he quickly finished pulling up his boxers to cover himself. Sasuke continued to lie on the bed with the sheet covering him to the chest and a rather displeased look on his face as he stared at her.

Sakura could do nothing but stare in shock and then anger at the scene in front of her as Naruto continued to put his orange pants and black undershirt on. She noted with annoyance that he didn't seem particuarly rushed once he had gotten his boxers on. So, she was able to make out a few hickies fading on his, she grudgingly admitted, very hot chest.

Sasuke, looking none too pleased himself, had had enough. "Sakura, leave."

She met Sasuke's eyes and was immediately hurt by how coldly they looked at her. How could he not care about her? If he was not involved with anyone, she could handle that because it wasn't a rejection of her personally, but knowing that he was apparently sexually involved...and with Naruto no less!...hurt her beyond anything she thought she could experience. She felt like her heart was breaking and she started having trouble breathing as tears came to her eyes.

Naruto, looking concerned, started walking towards her raising an arm as if to comfort her. _How dare he?!?_

"Stay away from me!" she snapped. "Don't you dare! How could you do this to me?!? What kind of a friend are you?" Unable to take the sudden blank expression on his face and Sasuke's look of anger, she turned and ran out of the house. She needed to get control of herself before she could report to the Hokage tower.

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Inside the bedroom, Naruto was still staring blankly at the open door that Sakura had just left. Sasuke got up from the bed and started getting dressed. He then walked over to Naruto and with a hand to his chin turned the blond to face him.

"Are you sorry?"

"For what?" Naruto said surprised.

Sasuke merely smirked and proceeded to strap on his kunai holster and weapons pouch. "Good. So why do you look like the few brain cells you have are no longer working, usuratonkachi?"

"She's my friend, teme. I care about her. But the way she just acted to you then me...I didn't like the way it made me feel. I wish I had been awake enough to sense her outside, I would've masked my chakra so this didn't happen." Naruto looked at Sasuke as he zipped up his orange jacket. "I'm not sorry for being with you."

Sasuke grunted and started to walk out of the room when he felt Naruto's arms wrap around his waist. He felt his slightly shorter lover nuzzle the back of his neck lightly. Accurately interpreting this as a need for assurance, Sasuke entwined his fingers with the blond's and squeezed lightly. He felt Naruto smile against the back of his neck and let go. "Come on, dobe."

With that, they left towards the Hokage tower to find out what Tsunade wants with them.

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AN: So let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Well, here we go, Chapter 2. I want to thank those who reviewed, they gave me the courage to keep writing. After this, I am planning to update once a week. 

Disclaimer still applies...I no own.

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On the way to report to the Hokage, Sasuke observed his lover out of the corner of his eye. He knew Naruto was hurt over Sakura's accusation that he hadn't been a friend to her. The blond cared for all of his friends and cherished them all the more considering how alone he had been as a child. Sasuke knew he was eating himself up about how upset their pink-haired teammate had been. '_Well, she can just get over it_.' he thought, with a surge of possessiveness flowing through him. _'I'm not giving the dobe up.'_

Sasuke remembered back to the day he had defeated Itachi.

--Flashback--

He had been sitting there, Itachi's blood on his hands, and with a shock realized _IT WAS HIS BROTHER'S BLOOD ON HIS HANDS._ He had been expecting to feel a sense of accomplishment. After all, he had trained hard and brought his clan's killer to justice, and he did it without the Mangekyou. Instead, he felt empty. What had it all been for? His clan was still slaughtered, and now, with his brother dead, he was the last Uchiha. Add in that he was a missing nin and he had nothing. All it had done was make him his brother's murderer.

There was nothing left.

He couldn't help but remember the happy times he had had with his brother and felt depression hit. His brother was dead. He still didn't understand why things had turned out the way they had. Why did Itachi massacre the Uchiha clan? Why did he leave Sasuke alive? It didn't make any sense and now he was left with nothing. What was left for him to do? Revive his clan? How? Why should he when he didn't even want to live at this point? He had nowhere to go...he was a murdering traitor, nothing more.

He was rudely brought back to the present by a punch to his shoulder. "Come on bastard, it's time to go home." He looked up to see Naruto's annoying face. _'What the hell is he talking about?'_ He couldn't figure out why Naruto was looking at him with...compassion?

"I have no home" was all the reply he thought necessary.

Apparently that wasn't enough for the idiot, who actually appeared angry "Yes, you have a home, and a family, and it has missed you. I'll kick your ass if I have to, but you're coming back to Konoha."

_What family? They're all dead. How could he possibly say that?!?_ Sasuke launched himself at the blond, he was furious. What right did Naruto have to be angry? What right did he have to talk to Sasuke that way? As he fought with Naruto, he felt himself fall back into the pattern of taking out his frustration and anger on the blond. It was so familiar, even though they hadn't fought in years (not counting Naruto's attempt to take Sasuke away from Orochimaru's base) that he was able to purge all the upset into this fight.

As he lay on the ground, utterly exhausted, he realized that he was no longer empty...he was still able to feel. He turned his head and saw that Naruto was staring at him with a slight smile on his face. Sasuke felt himself being lifted onto someone's back. Before he lost consciousness, he could hear the same happening to Naruto. His last thought was that maybe he could keep living after all.

--End Flashback--

_'How did he know?'_ Sasuke thought to himself as he and Naruto climbed the stairs of the Hokage tower. _'How did he know what I needed?' _

He knew he was lucky to call Naruto his friend after all that had happened, all the pain he put the blond through. The fact that he could also claim him as his lover just left him thanking the fates for this gift he didn't deserve, but, selfish bastard that he is, he'll take and keep. He was starting to learn to be happy, and he had a reason to live again. Naruto didn't want him to die and, as in everything else between the two, fought with everything in him to keep the Uchiha alive. He couldn't thank the dobe enough...not that he would say anything of course.

Arriving at the Hokage's office, Naruto walked right on in without so much as knocking, "Tsunade-baachan, what have you got for us?" Sasuke following in after him.

Tsuande looked at them from behind her desk which was flanked by Kakash and Sai. "Ah, there you are brat. Sai was just telling me he couldn't find you."

"Yeah, Sakura ran into me when she was finding Sasuke, so what's going on?" he said a little rushed with a slight blush on his face.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Tsuanade looked around the boys and asked "Where is Sakura?"

Looking around as if just realizing that Sakura wasn't there, Naruto replied stupidly "She's not here yet?"

Behind him, he heard Sasuke sigh, "Idiot" then he addressed Tsunade directly, "Sakura was upset when she found out that Naruto and I are sleeping together and ran off. I have no clue where she is now."

This proclamation was met with several differnt reactions. Kakashi brows met his hairline, but quickly came down and a small giggle could be heard from his direction. Which was a little scary to hear from their old sensei. Pervert. Sai looked only a little surprised, but his face wasn't used to showing expression anyway, so who knew what was going on in his head. Tsunade however looked at Naruto with pleading eyes, "Please tell me that's not true."

Naruto on the other hand was resembling a tomato and staring at his lover. "Do you think you could have warned me before telling everyone?!?"

Before Sasuke could do more than smirk and explain that he hadn't told everyone, just these three, he heard a thud behind him and turned to see that Tsunade's head had hit her desk. "Baa-chan?" Naruto asked tentatively inching towards the Hokage. A groan could be heard from her and as he got nearer he could hear her mumbling "no no no no". Suddenly feeling angry that another person he cared about was against his relationship with Sasuke, he cried out "It's nobody's business who I choose to sleep with, why can't you just accept it?"

Tsunade at first looked confused as she raised her head to look at the young man who reminded her so much of her little brother. Then realization dawned and she quickly stated "It's not that brat...it's just that Jiraiya won the bet."

A cricket could be heard chirping in the silence that followed that statement, then...

"WHAT BET?!? WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU BE BETTING ON MY SEX LIFE FOR? THAT'S JUST SICK!"

As Naruto was making it his personal mission to destroy the fragile ear drums of all those around, Sasuke went to sit in one of the chairs and stare out the window showing his boredom. Kakashi came to stand next to him and place a hand on his shoulder, "Congratulations Sasuke! So, who's on top?"

At that, Naruto's head turned so fast you could almost hear the bones snap as he changed his tirade in Kakashi's direction leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that Kakashi was a pervert and what was he thinking asking a question like that? and didn't he get enough material from Ero-Sennin's books?

Tsunade, feeling that the amusement would have to be put on hold for a moment, slammed her fist into her desk, "THAT'S ENOUGH!" As attention was placed on her she lightly placed her elbows on her dangerously creaking desk and rested her chin on her entwined fingers. "Genma!" and in a puff of smoke the senbon chewing Jounin was kneeling in the room before the Hokage. "Go find Haruno Sakura and get her here, I don't want to put off the mission briefing any longer."

"Hai" and with that he disappeared again.

"While we're waiting on Sakura, could you all please leave Naruto and I alone for a few minutes? And Sai, thank you for looking for Naruto, you're dismissed, but know that you're not to tell anyone about what you heard."

As the others started to depart Sasuke looked at his lover silently asking if he wanted him to stay. Naruto didn't look too comfortable, but he put on a huge grin and nodded his head. Knowing that the blond could take care of himself, he followed Sai and Kakashi out of the office, closing the door behind him.

Occasional incoherant exclamations could be heard through the doors, but nobody was worried. Naruto wasn't called the loudest ninja in Konaha for nothing. Thinking about how true that was, even in bed, Sasuke smirked to himself remembering the previous night before they had showered and fallen asleep together. Before he could let himself get too distracted, Sai decided to break the silence. "I must say, I'm surprised you two are sleeping together considering he doesn't have much of a penis." At Sasuke's continued silence, Sai decided to elaborate, "Well, from what I was able to see at the hot springs. I guess maybe the saying 'it's not the size that counts' is true after all."

"Sai?" Sasuke put in stopping the verbal stream from the other raven's mouth.

"Yes?" Sai asked curiously.

"One, do not talk about Naruto's and my relationship like that again. Two, if you ever look at him naked again, I will slice out your eyes." he said with a snarl, his own possessiveness surprising him. He might not be showing the strain of their relationship being made partially public as much as Naruto, but that didn't mean he wasn't fondly remembering the time, not so long ago, when it was just between him and the blond. He wasn't ashamed of their relationship, but as his lover said, it was nobody's business but theirs. However, he knew that if he had not said anything in the Hokage's office, Sakura would let it out anyways.

Sai didn't look intimidated at all and, in fact, looked as if he was going to keep going when Kakashi decided it was time to intervene. "Sai, Tsunade-sama dismissed you, go find something else to do." After Sai had departed with a fake smile in Sasuke's direction, Kakashi turned to Sasuke "Do you need to be placed on a separate team from Naruto so that it won't affect your performance as a shinobi?"

The Uchiha seemed taken aback by this question and he thought about it for a few moments. The former dobe had become a strong shinobi and, if matched with Sasuke, they would be a powerful combination. They had even discussed trying to join Naruto's wind ability with his own fire jutsus as Wind strengthens Fire. He told Kakashi as much.

His old sensei looked intrigued by the idea and impressed that Sasuke actually appeared to be thinking rationally about this. He wondered if maybe Sasuke was instinctually compensating for how hot-headed his lover usually was. Thinking of Naruto as Sasuke's lover was not that hard to do, it somehow just seemed like the logical conclusion to everything that had happened to the two in the past. Seeing as how they managed to not kill each other, all that tension had to go somewhere.

They were distracted from further discussion by Sakura's arrival. She walked up to them slowly, her eyes were pink from her earlier tears and she was wringing her hands. Kakashi said that he would advise the Hokage that they were now all there and Sakura continued up to Sasuke. He looked back at her with no expression waiting for her to say whatever it is that she wanted to say.

"Sasuke-kun...um...I'm sorry, I was shocked and reacted badly and..." she trailed off as Sasuke walked away to follow Kakashi into Tsunade's office. "I'm not the one you yelled at" was all he said to her.

Upon re-entering the office he saw Naruto standing off to the side with a small smile on his face, he made eye contact with the blond and raised an eyebrow and was rewarded with a slightly larger smile. Nodding his head at the blond, Sasuke then faced the Hokage standing next to Kakashi. Sakura found a place on the other side of Kakashi. Naruto face went blank as he took his place beside Sasuke and awaited orders.

Tsuande looked at the team before her and couldn't help but think of the talent and power within these four shinobi. "Alright, I'll make this quick, at noon you will meet at the village gates to begin an escort mission for a visiting dignatary and his entourage to the Earth country. This mission should take you no longer than 2 weeks and I expect you back in Konoha by then. This is a B ranked mission due to the status of the dignatary and some valuables he will be transporting. Further mission details are in this scroll" which she tossed to Kakashi who pocketed it looking as bored as ever.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke" at hearing their full names, both young men stood a little straighter, "as you are both still technically genin, upon your return to the village, you will be entered into the upcoming Chunin exams next month." Naruto had to be restrained from jumping for joy by Sasuke's hand on his shoulder. "Quiet dobe, let her finish"

"Damn teme, you know how to take the fun out of things" but Naruto quieted and, as respectfully as he ever is, let Tsunade continue.

Giving a brief thankful glance to Sasuke, she continued "As the exams require a 3 person team to enter and Sakura has already become a chunin, we are looking for a third member of your team. One should be found by the time you return from your escort mission. Good luck and now get out." With that she started to shift the scrolls around on her desk attempting to look busy.

"Tsunade-sama, I request to be placed on a different team and excused from this mission." All attention was now on Sakura, though Sasuke did not miss the quick look of pain on Naruto's face. The Hokage looked annoyed. "Why would you wish a different team, Sakura?"

Sakura kept her gaze on her mentor "For personal reasons, Hokage-sama." Tsunade didn't look any happier, "Will these personal reasons prevent you from doing your job?"

The pink kunoichi hesitated before answering no. "Then, no, you will not be removed from the team for this mission. Personal feelings and lives have no place on a mission. All of you understand that. Do not let what is going on in your private life affect your skills as a shinobi, or you will get yourself or your teammates killed. Am I understood?"

They all answered in varying degrees of an affirmative and made their way out of the office.

"I will meet all of you at the gates in 3 hours, don't be late" and Kakashi was gone in a puff of smoke. Sakura hurried away as well and Naruto and Sasuke left together. They were each in their own thoughts. Sasuke was aware that a large amount of trust was being placed in him, both on this mission and as Naruto's partner. He knew the Hokage cared a great deal for his lover and the fact that she took the news of their relationship in stride, had apparently even made a wager (albeit against them having a relationship) surprised him. He had expected to receive threats from her considering his history. The fact that he was also being sent on a mission out of the country with no ANBU escort, Kakashi didn't count in his mind, said all the more of the amount of faith being placed in him. He was a little intimidated by this and, if he was honest with himself, afraid that he would screw this up. Everything seemed to be going so well in his opinion, much better than he could have hoped with the way he had left the village,

"So, a two week mission away from the village where we will have to be alert the whole time" Naruto broke into his reflections. Receiving no verbal acknowledgement from his best friend, Naruto continued "and we've got about 3 hours to get ready and to the gates. I could probably be ready in an hour." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blond having a feeling where this was going. Unable to contain himself further "so...wanna go back to your place real quick?" Naruto finished with a leer. Sasuke did nothing more than smirk and made to the roofs towards his home, his lover right behind.

Arriving through the window to Sasuke's bedroom Naruto immediately pressed himself to Sasuke's body and plundered his mouth in a passionate kiss. One hand snaked to Sasuke's hair while the other lightly grabbed the Uchiha's ass, silently asking if he'd submit without their usual battle for dominance. Sensing how needy his lover was, and distantly wondering the cause, Sasuke decided he could let himself be topped without making Naruto have to fight for it. It was going to be two weeks before they could have sex again, so he didn't want to waste any time struggling when what he really needed was to be one with his lover. Who was topping wasn't really a concern at the moment.

Therefore, he wrapped his arms around the blond and let himself be carried away in the sensation.

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An hour later saw Uzumaki Naruto leaving the Uchiha distric on his way to his apartment. Two hours later saw the 3 former teammates at the village gates being introduced by Kakashi to their clients. Despite Kakashi's tendencies for tardiness, the group left just after noon and made their way towards Earth country.

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AN: And there you go, another chapter done. This really is as hard as I thought it would be, but I hope you all like. Please let me know what you think and if anybody has any ideas on who I should put as the third person on the Chunnin exam, or should I just create an original character? I'm still trying to decide on that, though I'm heavily leaning towards just making an OC.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Ok, so it took me 8 days to update instead of 7. I really am going to try to make sure they are weekly updates as much as possible. I'm also trying to get my chapters longer. 

Disclaimer: me no own Naruto.

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The trip to Earth Country would take them about 5-7 days as they were traveling on foot at the rate of the slowest of the group the team of Konoha shinobi were escorting. There was a wagon carying the baggage along with their client and 4 members of his entourage. Among the people being protected was a young girl, Kiri. She was about 7 years old with dirty blond hair and chocolate brown eyes.

Not surprisingly, she had taken a liking to Naruto almost immediately. She was bouncing around Naruto as they traveled, giggling and asking questions and telling stories. Naruto handled this in the typical, mature fashion he is known for...he bounced right back with her and endeavored not to be outdone by the child's ability to reach high levels of squeals and shrieks in his efforts to keep her amused.

A calm, quiet journey this was not.

Kakashi apologized to their client, Takamura, for the volume and antics of the blond shinobi.

"No, no problem at all" Takamura waved Kakashi's apology aside. "Kiri has been bored for most of the traveling we have been doing throughout the countries. She would complain a lot and mostly be in the way. That nice young man is keeping her occupied and we're moving faster now than at any previous time on this journey...even though we have only added baggage." he finished under his breath, but still ending his statement with a smile to the copy-nin.

Takamura was a soft spoken, middle-aged man, of medium height and build. His coloring was in shades of brown from the dark brown of his hair and eyes to the tan of his skin. His was the epitome of the "average" appearance.

This very 'averageness' is what caught Sasuke's attention. He narrowed his onyx eyes as he observed the man and his group. Kiri was obviously related to Takamura. The other 3 men were introduced as family friends, but their almost deferential treatment of Takamura, as well as the way they kept a keen eye on their surroundings, made Sasuke determine they were likely guards.

'_I wonder what they picked up that made Takamura feel the additional protection of shinobi was necessary.'_ the raven thought to himself as he too observed both his surroundings and his companions. He was keeping to himself as was his habit. His aura was so anti-social, nobody tried to start any conversations with him beyond the basic instructions for the journey. This was how he had always preferred it. He wasn't out to make friends, just get the job done.

Sasuke, much to the relief of his fellow Konoha nin, had given up his former Oto clothing, but had kept a similar style. His current garb was black shinobi pants with his kunai holster and weapons pouch. His top was similar to his white gi from Oto, but this was a navy blue that closed more firmly around his torso exposing less of his chest. The Uchiha emblem on the back was also larger to the size of that which was worn on the shirts of his childhood. His sword was now carried on his back in the style of the ANBU. His forehead protector, newly given to him upon his acceptance back to Konoha, was across his brow. He had planned on wearing his old one that Naruto had returned to him, but the Hokage requested that he not wear one that was 'defaced'. So his original protector with its slash across the leaf symbol was sitting on a shelf at his home.

Kakashi was as he always had been, typical jounin garb, with his forhead protector still covering his Sharingan. Sakura was in her red and pink outfit with gloves and shin protectors. It is unknown why Naruto insists on his orange pants and jacket to this day. Originally, it might have been his way of getting attention, but at this point, maybe it's just habit. It also serves the purpose of having people, upon first meeting him, immediately dismissing him as a joke. Not that that was his intention and much to his frustration. Not that Sasuke ever felt it necessary to critique his friend's fashion sense. There were so many other fun things to tease the blond about.

The first night they made camp in a small clearing near a river. The day had been clear and fine, if a bit warm, and the night was promising to be beautiful.

Dinner was mostly silent, with the exception of Naruto gracing Kiri with all the joys of Ramen and how she had been a poor, deprived child as she had never eaten it before. He even went so far as to provide her a taste from his bowl. The little girl's chocolate eyes lit up with delight at first taste and Naruto found himself in the position of having to share from his limited supply. Finding that the girl had an appetite to rival his, his face look devastated for a moment before he laughed it off and kept the child happy; though he did manage to keep her from over-eating and making herself sick.

A muffled snort and "serves him right" could barely be heard from Sakura's direction. She was sitting on the opposite side of the camp from Naruto. She had been quiet throughout most of the start of their mission and mainly only spoke to Kakashi. She ignored her teammates.

Sasuke was not too concerned about the pink-haired medic-nin's opinion. It appeared that Naruto was giving her space after his initial attempts to make conversation when they left the village.

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Their client, Takamura, noted the discomfort between the shinobi, but chose not to comment on it. He had been informed that he had been provided with a jounin who was identified as Kakashi, a medic chunin, and the two young men were genin. He felt this would be adequate, though he woud have preferred higher ranks than the two genin. He was surprised that the pale, dark-haired man who carried his sword with such comfort was a mere genin. He shrugged to himself, who knows, maybe the sword was just for show. The loud blond didn't appear impressive in any way.

Not that it was too important. It was unlikely that anyone would know what he was carrying and he doubted that the shinobi would even be necessary. He mourned the expense but did feel it was better safe than sorry.  
------

Bedrolls were laid out beneath the stars after dinner. Takamura and Kiri were given the use of the only tent in the camp.

It was decided that Team Kakashi would take shifts during the night guarding the clearing. The shifts were divided and would be taken in the following order: Sasuke, Kakashi, Naruto, then Sakura. As everyone settled in to sleep, Sasuke did a lap around the camp and then found himself a perch on a tree branch overlooking the area.

He looked down and saw Naruto below in his sleeping roll, laying with his eyes open, staring at the stars above. Sasuke was surprised to feel the level of his concern for the blond. Those lively blue eyes had been distracted all day, especially after leaving the Hokage that morning. Despite his best friend's attempts to appear that all was fine, Sasuke knew how fake it was. He was angry on Naruto's behalf at Sakura's reaction to their relationship. It was even more unfortunate as Naruto had told him the night before that he was going to tell her about it.

It really hadn't occurred to either of them to tell anybody until Naruto realized Sakura still had strong feelings for Sasuke and he wanted to help her get over it. They weren't hiding their relationship from anybody, it was just that it was something separate from their public life and neither of them had been in the habit of sharing their private lives openly. When they were all together, even in the early days of the academy nobody had ever tried to get to know Sasuke or Naruto.

Since his clan's massacre, people were too busy fawning over Sasuke for his talents or his looks and nobody ever inquired as to how he felt or who he was. Naruto was ostracized by most of the adults and the younger generation took their cue from their elders and so he had never tried to let people know what he did at home, what books he read, scrolls he studied, plants he kept; it just never seemed that anyone would care. Naruto focused on being noticed, but he chose to make his goal to be Hokage and that is what he chose to be noticed for.

'_It also wasn't like we eloped or anything'_, Sasuke thought to himself. They were best friends who had sex, they had discovered how enjoyable the activity could be together. _'It's not like we're in love or anything.'_ He thought back to how it all started between the two of them.

---Flashback---

It had been over a month since he was released from Ibiki, the interrogations and observations had lasted several weeks, and allowed to join the ranks of Konoha shinobi, though under probation. He had been invited by several people out to join various social activities, but he declined all offers. He noticed that the former genin who had been sent after him when he left to join Orochimaru were keeping their distance from him. Though Rock Lee didn't seem to hold much of a grudge, he even invitied Sasuke to spar with him which he did. They ended their taijutsu spar with a draw as they had both won 2 rounds.

Naruto asked Sasuke to join him for training several times, but Sasuke kept his distance. He didn't understand why, he just didn't want to fight Naruto again after the two times he had nearly killed the blond. After the third rejection, Naruto confronted him near a deserted training area.

"Teme! What's your problem? Why won't you train with me? Do you think you're the only one who's gotten better over the years and I'm not worth your time?" he growled.

Sasuke was about to scoff and walk away, but he saw just how much this meant to Naruto and found himself asking, "Why do you care?"

Naruto seemed taken aback. "I told you before how much you meant to me...how much this bond meant to me."

"Oh yeah, you feel like we're brothers." This time Sasuke did walk away, but was caught by the elbow and turned to face flashing blue eyes.

"Damnit, what's your problem?!?"

"Naruto, I had a brother and in case you don't remember, I KILLED him! Considering the number of times I nearly killed you, why would you want that title?!" he was close to screaming at this point.

"Then give me a different title if you don't want to be brothers."

"What do you want to be to me?" They were starting to yell at each other.

"I don't care as long as I'm yours!" Sasuke stepped back as though punched. Naruto didn't appear to notice the significance of the words he just said. He was panting with his emotions. He just wanted Sasuke to value this bond they had.

Sasuke continued to step backwards away from the blond. "Sasuke?" Naruto was unsure of the confused and shocked expression on the Uchiha's face.

He turned and continued walking away but stopped when he heard a second "Sasuke?" Naruto's voice sounded almost...fragile. He sighed, "I just need to think" and then went home to do just that.

Several days later, Naruto answered a knocking on his door. He was surprised to see it was Sasuke but quickly let him in. Sasuke looked around his small apartment and leaned against one of the walls staring at his friend. Naruto was barefoot and without his orange jacket or forehead protector. His blond hair was laying softly around his face and his blue eyes were looking back curiously at the raven.

Finally, Sasuke broke the silence. "I don't know what else to call you but my best friend. You are the closest thing I have to family and you are special to me. Can you be satisfied with that?"

Naruto felt his heart warm from hearing these words and nodded slowly to show that he would be happy with being Sasuke's best friend. However, something about those onyx eyes seemed unsure. "But?"

Sasuke found that he couldn't meet those blue eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath "After what you said yesterday, there was something I wanted to do and I don't know what it means." Naruto cocked his head to the side and came to within reaching distance of his friend. "What was it?"

The Uchiha slowly raised his hand and cupped Naruto's cheek. Blue eyes widened but he didn't move. Being softly touched was not something he was used to at all. Sasuke then slowly closed the distance between their lips and stayed like that for a moment, neither moving or breathing, before he pulled back. Both of them looked confused, but strangely, they wanted to do it again. This time, they both leaned into the kiss and moved gently against each other, with just their lips and Sasuke's hand to Naruto's cheek connecting them.

When they pulled back a second time, they both had a light blush on their faces. Sasuke dropped his hand back to his side. "How...how did that feel?"

Naruto shook his head slightly to get his thoughts together and then met those dark eyes staring at him. "It felt good." He wasn't sure what, if anything, this meant. They had just established that they were best friends. His crush on Sakura aside, which he had grown out of anyways, he had never really considered the idea of being affectionate with someone. It wasn't anything that he had ever experienced so he didn't think anymore about it. They were best friends and if Sasuke wanted to touch, he was ok with that. Both boys had been starved for affection all their lives. Even when Sasuke's family was alive, he father was so cold to him that he was a lonely child who wasn't used to soft physical contact.

He gave a small smile, so different from his usual foxy grins, and came in to kiss Sasuke a third time.

Over the next few months, the boys learned about each other's bodies and how to share pleasure and comfort and passion with each other. They also learned about themselves and how they were growing to depend on the other.

---End Flashback---

At the end of the shift, Sasuke hopped down to wake Kakashi who went to do his lap around the camp and inspect their surroundings. Sasuke then went to his bedroll that was laid out near Naruto's, not that they would be sharing sleeping space, but they were close enough to hear the other's whispers. "Do you want to talk?" he whispered to his lover, who at this point was feigning sleep.

With a soft smile, Naruto met those dark eyes that he was learning to read, then extended his arm to touch Sasuke's hand. The fingers interlaced for a moment until, with a shake of his head, he withdrew his hand back to his side. The raven watched him for a minute before closing his eyes. "Get some sleep, usuratonkachi."

And they both did until Kakashi woke Naruto for his shift.

As the blond found his perch in the tree overlooking the camp, he decided he would have to stop being so introspective, or he'd really start to worry Sasuke. He couldn't help it...what Tsunade had told him had shaken him to the core.

When she had asked everyone to leave her and Naruto alone she had then asked him how long he and Sasuke had been lovers. He was still feeling defensive considering all that had happened that morning and wasn't keen to answer any personal questions at the moment. Tsunade soon recognized this and backed off.

She then told Naruto about Ibiki's findings after interrogating Sasuke upon his return to Konoha. Ibiki felt that the last Uchiha would be no threat to the village, but did point out that Sasuke seemed to have strong emotional ties to Naruto. It was his opinion that at that time, Naruto was Sasuke's reason for living, it was only when he was mentioned that Sasuke even seemed to show any feelings. Otherwise, it was like the raven wasn't even there.

To be Sasuke's reason for living and to be in a sexual relationship with him was a lot to take on. "Do you think you can handle it Naruto?" Tsunade had asked him. Before he could reply, Kakashi had informed them that Sakura had arrived and the mission briefing had commenced.

Now, sitting above the camp and looking down at his lover, Naruto didn't feel any regrets for what they had together. Nobody had shown such a caring for him and he had never felt the need to be so close to anyone else. It felt right that they should depend on their best friend. They talked now in the privacy of each other's homes. Not just about training and missions but about their experiences when they were younger and about their respective treatment from the village. They still fought and would spar now, but it never hit the anger or danger levels of what had occurred before Sasuke had left the village.

What worried Naruto was that he would fail Sasuke. That he would fail to be what Sasuke needed. He knew that his friend would have to revive his clan at some point. At seventeen, that was still too soon to be thinking too hard about, but it was still there and Naruto was starting to wonder if he could handle sharing Sasuke's bed. Or giving it up completely. He felt a pressure to be more than he is, because he had to be what his lover needs, and he wasn't sure what that is.

He went over to Sakura when it was time to wake her and lightly touched her shoulder. She awoke instantly and stared at him blankly. "It's your shift" he told her. Her vision cleared, she nodded and got up. Naruto turned to go back to his bedroll when her voice stopped him. "Naruto?"

"Yes, Sakura-chan?" he looked over his shoulder at her, an eyebrow raised in inquiry.

"Would you walk with me for a few minutes?" He nodded and together they walked along the outside of the camp inspecting the surroundings again.

He stayed quiet, waiting for her to have her say. After a few minutes as they were nearly done with their walk, she faced him with determination in her emerald eyes. "You betrayed me."

All he could do was stare at her for a few moments before he collected himself. "How?"

"You knew how I felt for him and you stole him."

Naruto hung his head and Sakura felt a jolt of triumph, but when he met her eyes, she saw nothing there to make her feel victorious. "He was never yours for me to steal." As Sakura started to open her mouth, anger flashing in her eyes, he beat her to it, "What goes on between him and me is none of your business. I hadn't realized you still had a crush on Sasuke, but I'll be honest, I didn't really think about it." He took a step closer to her and his voice softened. "You are my friend and I care about you alot. I would never want you to be hurt, but I can't help it if you choose to be angry that your feelings weren't returned."

"But you knew how I felt! If you weren't with him then he would have turned to me eventually!" She almost seemed desperate with her outburst, though she kept it quiet enough not to disturb the sleepers.

The blond just looked at her with sympathy. "Do you really believe that?"

As she looked about to punch him he had one more point to make, "Sakura, when we were younger I had a crush on you, everyone knew it. And yes, I knew how you, and just about every girl, felt about Sasuke, though I couldn't understand it at the time." Naruto smiled at that, and Sakura did not seem amused, clearly wanting to know why he was saying this. He stared hard into her eyes, "If Sasuke had returned your feelings, knowning of my crush on you, would I have had the right to treat him the way you are treating me?"

She unwillingly flinched at that and thought about it for a moment before she dropped her fist. They stood there for a few more moments before she turned on her heel and continued her guard duty.

Naruto sighed and thought that he might really be growing apart from his pink haired friend. Saddened by this thought he went to lie down and go back to sleep for what little of the night was left.

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Well, how is it going? Please let me know what you all think. Quick FYI, cause a friend asked me about this, there will not be MPreg.


	4. Chapter 4

Well, I'm going on vacation this weekend so I posted early, the next chapter won't be out until next weekend.

Warning: Yaoi, pathetic attempts at drama and humor. There is a bit of smut at the beginning (my first fic my first lemon) so if this bothers you, just scroll down to the end of the italics. Yay Sasu/Naru lovin'.

Disclaimer: I continue to own nothing that is Naruto...but this fanfic is all mine.

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---Lemony section----

_Naruto woke to hear the water running in the tub in the bathroom. He looked to the window, with its curtains keeping most of the early morning light out of the dark room. Getting up naked from the large bed, he stretched, arching his back and groaning as he heard the distinctive popping of his joints. He then made his way to the bathroom where he heard the water shutting off and the sound of a body entering the bathtub. Quietly opening the door to peer in, he observed his pale skinned lover sitting in the deep tub, the water around his waist as he leaned forward to grab the washcloth and a bar of soap. Naruto could see the faint scratch marks on the Uchiha's back and remembered causing those marks the night before._

_Irrestibly aroused by the sight, he made his way into the room. Sasuke leaned back eyeing his friend as he entered the tub and stradled the creamy thighs. Naruto leaned forward to kiss him while taking the washcloth and using it to caress his lover's chest. His lips made their way down a strong jaw to the exposed neck, he lightly nipped before continuing his way down the pale chest to kiss and lick where the washcloth had recently caressed. Forgetting the cloth and leaving it to float in the tub, his tanned hands continued lower to fondle the hardening flesh beneath him._

_Sasuke watched the blond through half lidded eyes as a moan left his throat. Blue eyes looked up at him and a smirk appeared as the lips came up to devour his again. Naruto used one hand to support himself against the wall of the tub, while the other reached down to his own ass and began to prepare himself, unseen by Sasuke._

_He broke the kiss and lifted himself over the Uchiha as blue met lustful black. "I can't wait anymore" and with that he pressed Sasuke inside him and lowered himself until he was filled by his wide-eyed best friend. It was not often that one of them would take the lead and be uke. Their eyes never breaking contact, Naruto began to move on his lover as Sasuke's hands came to strong, bronzed hips to help him move._

_Their pants and moans became louder and water started to spill over the side of the bathtub. As the blond felt his prostate being stimulated by his movements he threw his head back and gasped. "Damn! I do love fucking you."_

_Sasuke rolled his eyes and between grunts kindly informed, "I'm not the one being fucked, dobe."_

_Naruto's smile got predatory and he twined his fingers with the other's and harshly pinned them above a dark head while slamming himself down on the cock inside him. "Yes you are" and continued to pound himself on the rigid flesh as Sasuke's back arched and he moaned incomprehensibly._

_As he felt his release approaching, he slowed his pace, loosened his grip on the pinned hands and bent down to lick his lover's ear before asking huskily, "Do you love fucking me?"_

_With all the grace and speed he was known for, Sasuke flipped them over within the tub. He smirked at his friend who grinned back and then proceeded to ram Naruto into the side of the bathtub as the water continued to migrate to the tiled floor. Naruto wrapped his legs around the thrusting hips and felt the friction of the other's torso against his cock as he cried out the other's name. They came together clutching each other tightly and staying like that as they waited for their breathing to return to normal._

_Removing himself from the blond, Sasuke reached for the washcloth and continued washing himelf and then handed the cloth over so Naruto could clean himself as he made his way out of the tub and grimaced at the water soaking the tiles. He lifted an eyebrow at his lover who looked sheepish. "Like I said, I couldn't wait." Shaking his head and mumbling about impatient idiots, though there was no malice in his voice, he used a towel to mop up the water and then shared his remaining towel with his friend who had finished his washing. He reached out for Naruto and..._

---End of lemonyness---

Naruto was brought out of his very happy thoughts by a small stone bouncing off the metal of his hitai-ate. He caught the next one heading his way and glared at the uchiwa covered back walking ahead of him. They were still on the road escorting Takamura and his group home. Takamura and Kiri were in the wagon while the others walked around it. The little girl was giving into exhaustion and napping away. They had been traveling for 3 days and had just recently crossed the border into Earth country and still had another 2 days until they reached their destination.

Sasuke's head dodged the stone flung back at him from the irate blond behind him. Kakashi and Sakura were guarding the other side of the wagon. He smirked over his shoulder, "Wouldn't want you to get killed because you were too busy daydreaming, usuratonkachi."

Naruto merely growled under his breath, "Just remembering my last tub bath, teme."

Pale cheeks sported a touch of pink, but his only reply was a gruff, "Keep your thoughts on the mission."

The blond didn't miss that blush, and he grinned to himself.

They continued on in silence. Naruto had tried to talk to their traveling companions about their previous journey, but Takamura managed to deflect any probing questions and managed to keep the conversations as inane as the weather. His friends (everyone knew they were guards) were annoyingly tight lipped and for the most part just ignored the orange-clad shinobi. The lack of entertainment was boring and a bored Naruto is never a good thing.

Unfortunately, now that they were no longer within Fire country, they had to be even more cautious. This didn't stop Naruto from being bored. He had given up trying to get Kakashi-sensei to teach him something while they were on this mission because he was told he required too much attention when learning a jutsu and they didn't have the time. Sakura was still keeping her distance from him and Sasuke, but it didn't have the same anger behind it. She just seemed like she needed time, which Naruto was willing to give her.

He had tried to get Sasuke's attention, but the Uchiha was being an anti-social bastard. None of Naruto's attempts to annoy him worked either, maybe he had spent too much time with his best friend, he seemed to have built up an immunity to the blond's hyperactivity.

Little did he know that he was getting Sasuke's attention; it was debatable if this was in a good way. This was the first time they had been on an extended mission together since they were 13 and since that time, Sasuke was used to traveling with vastly different companions. He was used to being completely on his guard and not allowing any emotions or thoughts to show. Naruto's attempts to draw him out were close to working, but he wasn't comfortable enough to leave himself exposed. Even if it was just to talk about the mission or jutsus, it was still a reaction from him and he was used to being stone in this type of situation. He had to finally tell Naruto quietly that if he didn't back off he would be sleeping alone when they got back to Konoha. He was incredibly pleased by how effective that was, though a little guilty due to the quickly masked expression of hurt on the dobe's face. However, since then, Naruto had kept his distance.

This didn't help Sasuke much as he was now distracted by that look of hurt. He felt guilty for causing it and he hated that he felt that way. As much as they argue, he liked being around Naruto. It had taken him awhile to come to terms with that realization, but he had accepted that the blond was his best friend, and that he didn't want to live without him. As much as he loved fighting with him, hurting him was a different matter. _'Damn sensitive blond dobe.'_

During their stop for lunch and to relieve their bladders, Sasuke noticed a pained expression on his lover's face. "What is it?"

Naruto looked up from his bag, startled, then he forced a laugh and scratched the back of his head, "oh, nothing." Sasuke got up to look in the bag, but it was quickly hidden behind an orange back. A brief scuffle ensued with Sasuke the victor. "Sasuke, give me back my bag." As Naruto reached for it again Sasuke took the opportunity to hop away and inspect the contents. He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary until...

He looked back into desperate blue eyes as Naruto snatched back his bag and started to walk away. "You're out of food?"

"Nah, I got it under control." Naruto called over his shoulder. Much to his annoyance, their exchange had attracted the attention of their companions. Kakashi looked about to question him when he held up his hand and repeated "I got it, don't worry about it."

"How could you not pack enough food you baka!" Eyes turned to Sakura, but behind the derision, she did seem a little concerned.

"It's because you were sharing your ramen with Kiri, isn't it?" Now it was Sasuke who the focus was on, before eyes went between Naruto and the young girl who started to look guilty.

Naruto hurried over to her and knelt in front of the teary eyed girl, "No, don't worry about it. I'm just stupid and wasn't paying any attention, it's not because of you. I've got some food pills with me and I can hunt up some food tonite. See? Everything is alright" The girl reached out to hug him and he allowed it as he glared over her shoulder at the raven.

Sniffling the girl pulled away from the blond. She met his concerned blue orbs with her teary brown ones. "You shared with me and I'll share with you. Come on." With that, she took his big hand in her little one and led him to the wagon with him protesting about how that wasn't necessary.

"Nonsense" exclaimed Takamura. "You've been so generous with Kiri, and we need to keep you shinobi in top shape, so please, let us share our food with you." Naruto looked incredibly uncomfortable with this, but a glare from Sasuke shut him up and he ate the lunch offered him.

"He makes a good point, we'll hunt up some extra food tonight after we make camp." Kakashi stated as they were finishing their meals and getting ready to proceed for some more hours before they were ready to stop again for the night.

They were several hours within the border of Earth country, on a road in the center of a thick forest, and it was approaching twilight. The shinobi were starting to look around for a proper place to make camp for the night.

Naruto, again walking several feet behind Sasuke, at the back of the wagon noticed the suddenly tense shoulders ahead of him. Wondering what was causing that, he became more aware of his surroundings and sensed the people converging on them from the surrounding trees. They stopped approaching but continued to follow the travelers as they made their way along the road. None of the shinobi made any indication that all was not as it should be. It did not appear that their client or his guards noted the change.

After nearly half an hour of this, Naruto had had enough. He wanted this possible threat resolved before nightfall. At this point, they wouldn't be able to forage for extra food that night anyways.

He bounced up to Sasuke and threw his arms over the other's shoulders. "Hey teme! What do you think about a spar later? This trip is sooo boring and I've got all this energy I need to get rid of!" he said loudly right in Sasuke's ear. "Though I can think of better ways to get rid of energy" he grumbled under his breath.

The group continued moving, but slower now as they started to focus on the idiocy happening in front of them. "What are you doing?" hissed Sasuke. "Get back to where you were."

"Nah" Naruto whispered this time. "I'm giving them an opening." As understanding dawned in obsidian eyes, a shout came from behind. Grinning, Naruto turned to meet their attackers.

Takamura and Kiri were instantly placed in the wagon with their 3 guards taking positions next to them. Kakashi grabbed Sakura's arm to keep her from going forward and called out "Sasuke, Naruto you handle them."

Sasuke nodded and Naruto yelled out "Got it!" as they faced the 8 fighters in front of them. As the blond brought up his hands in the familiar cross pattern, Kakashi added "taijutsu only."

"Damnit!" cursed the blond as instead of forming kage bushins, he drew a kunai and jumped toward the 3 men going after him. Sasuke held back to observe his attackers movements.

"What are you doing?" Takamura cried out to Kakashi. "Eight attackers and you're only allowing the genin to fight?"

Without taking his eye off the fight slowly building up, he answered his client, "They haven't fought side by side in years, I want to see how their teamwork is." Turning at the last moment, he dodged an attack from the rear by some hopeful who had lingered from the fight figuring he would attack a weak spot. Quickly dispatching the man he continued "Besides, these shouldn't be a problem for either of my students."

By this time, Sasuke had taken down 4 men without bothering to unsheath his sword. Naruto had knocked out two and was dealing with an annoying opponent who was more skilled in taijutsu, and wasn't bothering with ninjutsu either. Sasuke was busy dodging a water attack before coming in behind the woman and hitting her behind her head knocking her to the ground unconcious. He stood to the side and watched the blond handle his last opponent.

Naruto was quickly losing what little patience he has and getting angry that he couldn't use his kage bushin to take down this taijutsu user who would quickly approach to strike and then just as quickly back away before Naruto could retaliate. Becoming frustrated and needing a way to keep this guy close so he could get a hit in, he remembered back to a fight he had had with Kabuto years ago. Grinning at the man who was holding a kunai, he deliberately left an opening.

Taking the bait, the man came in to stab and did draw blood, with his kunai through Naruto's left hand. The kyubi vessel quickly closed his digits around the enemy's hand to keep him close and then landed a strong blow to the man's face and releasing his hand kicked him in the gut sending him flying towards Sasuke.

Sasuke waited until the man started to fly by him before bringing his heel down on the man's torso, which plowed him right into the ground. The look on Sasuke's face was almost frightening he looked so angry. The emotion was so swiftly removed from his face, it was unclear if it had ever been there.

He approached the blond and grabbed his wounded hand. He glared at his friend, "Idiot" and started to wash off the wound with the water from his bottle. "Sakura. Get over here and heal this will you?" Now he glared at the pinkette who hadn't moved a muscle the whole time. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she ran over and started to channel chakra to heal the already closing wound. She understood, just because Naruto would heal fine on his own, they didn't need questions from the civilians as to why he healed so quickly with no scarring.

Within a minute his hand was healed and the remaining blood was washed away.

Kiri wanted to check on her friend, but was told to stay in the wagon by her guardian.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting way to handle that" Kakashi said as Takamura's men started rounding up the unconcious enemy and tying them up. "You need to train harder on your taijutsu."

"It wouldn't have been a problem if you had allowed me to use ninjutsu. My kage bushin would have taken down all of them and the bastard over there could have just sat on his ass." Naruto was frustrated. Sasuke had taken out 5 without a scratch on him and hadn't even bothered taking out a weapon.

Sasuke smirked back at him, "Jealous, dobe?"

"Whatever." With that, Naruto walked over to inspect the men and woman who had attacked them. There was no village identifiers on them and they all appeared a little raggedy. They all had a similar appearance, shades of brown, like Takamura. He was about to comment on that but Sasuke walked up beside him near the trussed up, wannabe enemy. He had been talking quietly to Kakashi who had an idea for what to do with them.

Biting his thumb to draw a bit of blood and going through the seals for a summoning, he slammed his hands to the ground and in a puff of smoke a small snake appeared and looked at it's invocator for instructions. "Bite each of them, but just enough to keep them out for 48 hours" he said, indicating their attackers. The snake hurried to obey before being released.

Naruto, along with several of the others, looked nauseous by the show, but recovered and he helped move the bandits to the side of the road under the canopy of trees. "We should have questioned them before you had your snake drug them." he grumbled to Sasuke.

He shrugged, "Takamura said he didn't want them questioned and insisted that we move out as quickly as possible."

"Don't you think that's a little weird?"

"Not really. He recognized them, and he knows what they're after, and he doesn't believe that there will be any further attacks. We should verify that, but he's the client and so we listen to him." They walked back to the others near the wagon and prepared to continue on.

Naruto wasn't satisfied with this. It was a mystery and he didn't like them as long as they were in front of him. He wanted to know exactly what was going on and no matter how many times he got the lecture of how shinobi are just tools and it wasn't their job to question a mission, he didn't think he could ever stop questioning.

They traveled well past nightfall to put some distance between them and the place where they left their foes. When they finally did stop for the night, the sleeping arrangements and watch schedule was the same as the previous nights. Just the guard shifts were shorter now as they wouldn't be there for as long. Naruto reassured Kiri that he was alright and a tough shinobi and she didn't have to worry.

Everyone went to their sleeping rolls quickly as they all claimed to be tired. Sasuke made his way around the camp, inspecting the shadows with his sharingan and then finding a convenient perch again in a nearby tree. However, unlike the other nights, Naruto got up after everyone else was asleep and then went to sit next to Sasuke on his tree branch. Neither spoke for several moments, just looked down at the sleepers.

"He looks like them." At Sasuke's inquiring glance, Naruto clarified, keeping his voice low so as not to wake anyone. "Takamura, he looks like those guys that attacked us. They could all be siblings. They attacked but he wasn't surprised. He didn't want to know anything about them, cause he already knew. He knows what's going on but we don't and we're just doing what he says and I don't like it."

Sasuke sighed. "It would be good to know what was behind their grudge against our client, so that we can anticipate their future actions. However, Takamura doesn't wish to share and the threat level isn't enough for us force anything from him. So far, everything that has happened has been below what this mission was ranked at. So we keep our eyes open and get him to where he has paid us to go. What good does worrying about it do?"

"Don't you want to know what's going on?"

"Not enough to go through the annoyance and potential fallout of forcefully finding out." At Naruto's incredulous look, Sasuke reached a hand out and grabbed him by the bicep. His voice got even lower, "All I want to do is finish this mission, return to Konoha, fuck you into the nearest surface" the blond's breathing sped up, Sasuke smirked "and teach you a few things about taijutsu that you obviously don't understand...you're not supposed to let them stab you, baka."

Naruto growled and tried to pull his arm away, but the grip tightened, "You rely too much on your clones, you need to focus on your other skills and work them too. You have a lot of power, but you still don't use it efficiently." He turned his head away, not happy listening to his faults, especially from Sasuke. The grip on his arm released, but the hand then moved up to cup his cheek. "It's your turn to let _me_ help _you_."

At that, Naruto turned to fully face his best friend and rival. Wide sapphire eyes met earnest onyx. He didn't know how to respond. Nobody _offered_ to help train him. Either it was Kakashi's job, or he would bribe Ero-sennin. Even in the academy, nobody, not even Iruka, took time to try and help him with his training. The best way he had learned was when he had a goal right in front of him, or Sasuke as his rival like in the tree climbing exercise. To be offered assistance and acknowledgement meant a lot to him, especially from his important person.

After a minute of just looking at each other, they leaned in together to share a short, chaste kiss, before pulling apart. Sasuke's hand was still cupping his cheek and Naruto turned his head enough to kiss the palm before jumping from the branch and returning to his bedding to sleep.

Neither had noticed slitted brown eyes observing them from the wagon. _'Interesting'_, Takamura thought to himself. He wasn't able to hear what they had been saying, but he did see everything.

He had been impressed by the young men during the fight and the speed in which they ended it. All told, it hadn't lasted more than a few minutes. He was especially impressed by the raven haired one. Apparently, he was as dangerous as he seemed, and the blond was not a complete buffoon as he appeared to be. Seeing that they were more than just teammates was not really noteworthy, but did serve to give him an insight as to why the pink haired one was so cold. She didn't seem the type to be so harsh, but he had noticed her discomfort around the two young men. Maybe she had had feelings for one of them, or both?

What really surprised him was that he would never have guessed that those two were anything more than fellow shinobi. He wouldn't have even figured them for friends. It seemed that the blond really was more than he appeared. He'll have to be more aware of these Konoha nin and not underestimate them. He liked them, but he wouldn't let them intefere with his business and the loud mouth was entirely too nosy.

'_Another day and a half, and this will all be over.'_ With that thought in his head, he fell asleep.

-  
Well, there we go. Feedback is always welcome...ah, come on, you know you wanna press that little review button.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Well, I'm back. My vacation rocked! So, one of the wonderful reviews I received gave me the impression that I should have a little smut in the beginning of every chapter and while I certainly can't promise that, here's a little bit of citrus to ideally keep you happy. Again, I want to point out that this is my first fic, so all of the encouragement I have gotten is very much appreciated. Thanks! 

Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto...but it would be sooo nice if we could get a little Sasu/Naru action in the manga, wouldn't it?

Warnings: Yaoi, occasional lemons/limes/citrusy goodness (if you don't like, scroll down to end of italicized section), poor attempts at humor and drama.

Enjoy!  
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---Limey Flashback---

_Heavy breathing came from the bed within Naruto's apartment. Naruto and Sasuke knelt on the bed facing each other, the blond's hands gripping Sasuke's side while the other's cupped whiskered cheeks as they kissed passionately. Their hitai-ate had been removed along with Naruto's jacket; long forgotten by the teens making out._

_It had been a week since they had shared their first willing kiss and this was only the second time they had found themselves alone together since. Naruto had answered his door to an irritated looking Sasuke who had pushed himself right in and turned to the blond angrily. He was frustrated because he had spent the whole day wondering if he should go back to Naruto and continue what they had started. He didn't know what it meant to have these urges and it was pissing him off._

_Sasuke said all this to Naruto who looked taken aback for a minute in which silence was all that could be heard in the apartment. Then the kyuubi vessel met the Uchiha's eyes and actually smirked. "Glad I'm not the only one having problems." With that, he smashed his lips to his friend's and things progressed till they were on the bed together._

_Naruto was having trouble thinking. He had never felt anything like this intimate experience he was sharing with Sasuke, and all they had done so far was kiss. He loved it! He was actually aroused from physical contact and he wanted more. Naruto gripped Sasuke's sides a bit harder, digging his nails into the material of the dark gi top, and slowly trailed nips and kisses past a strong jaw to a pale ear which he tentatively licked. At the sharp inhale from the raven and the fingers that twined into blond hair, he started to nibble on the ear. He continued his ministrations till he heard a moan escape the other._

_Wide blue eyes met equally shcoked black ones. (Reading Icha Icha and orioke no jutsu just doesn't prepare you for the real thing) They stared at each other, not believing what was happening to them, till finally Sasuke growled, "Don't stop!" and dragged Naruto's head back to his neck._

_Not needing to be told twice, Naruto repeated his earlier actions to his friend's ear and was rewarded with more pants and moans. Remembering something he read in that book of Jiraiya's, he trailed his tongue down the ivory neck to where it met the shoulder and applied pressure with his teeth then licked the area before sucking down on the skin._

_Sasuke's hands had found their way to Naruto's shoulders and were clutching them so hard, it was like that was the only thing keeping him upright. Encouraged, Naruto continued licking and sucking, enjoying the reactions from his normally stoic rival. When he had read Jiraiya's latest Icha Icha, it had been out of boredom, and considering the behavior of ero-sennin, it wasn't something he thought he should be paying much attention too. 'Maybe I should read that book again' he thought to himself._

_The raven seemed to be having trouble keeping himself upright and Naruto pushed his upper body against Sasuke's pushing him onto his back on the small bed. This snapped Sasuke back to awareness and he glared at the blond above him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

_"You just seemed like you wanted to lie down" Naruto answered sheepishly and started to untangle his legs from Sasuke's, but the action caused their groins to align and grind together. Simultaneous moans erupted from their throats and Naruto couldn't stop himself from grinding down again. The feeling was phenomenal and he didn't want it to end. Beneath him, Sasuke was meeting his hips with his own, adjusting Naruto to sit between his spread legs, his previous protest forgotten. His hands moved from clothed shoulders to pants clad hips and gripped the muscled buttocks he could feel through the cloth. _

_Lust hazed sapphire eyes locked with onyx as their motions became more frantic. Wrapping his legs around the blond's back, Sasuke lifted his head up to desperately kiss Naruto as he felt his release approach. They were inexperienced, but that didn't mean they didn't recognize an approaching orgasm. Naruto came first and collapsed on top of his friend who growled in his ear. Realizing the problem and, without thinking about his actions, he reached his hand down Sasuke's pants and finished him off quickly._

_As they lay together coming down from their orgasmic high, Naruto looked at his cum covered hand strangely. He just jerked his friend off. Hell!...he just dry humped his best friend. If this didn't qualify as weird, he didn't know what did. Averting his attention to said friend, he realized Sasuke looked about as clueless as him. Feeling that there was too much tension going on, he decided to lighten the mood. "Didn't think you'd ever be moaning under me, teme."_

_The reaction was explosive. Naruto was thrown so hard his back hit the opposite wall and Sasuke was out the door in seconds. It's amazing he remembered to grab his hitai ate on the way out. 'Damn bastard' The blond sighed to himself. 'Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say.' _

_Naruto picked himself up and shifted uncomfortably from the stickiness in his boxers. Looking over to his rumpled bed and remembering the activities of minutes before, he was amazed to discover himself becoming aroused again. Quickly, he made his way to the bathroom and started up a cold shower._

_'What the hell are we doing?'_

---End Limey Flashback---

Sakura was finishing off her turn of guarding the camp for the night. The sun would be rising soon and she had a decision to make. She looked down at her teammates and still felt the hurt and anger that had been fighting with her feelings of inferiority since she had discovered them together.

Back when they were genin together, she had begun with nothing but an obsession for Sasuke. Who knew why she became a kunoichi, because besides excelling on the written exams, she seemed to have little interest in anything but looking good and trying to attract the young Uchiha. After their mission to the Wave Country, she realized that she needed to become serious about her duties and training, or she'd get herself killed.

Thinking back to that mission, she frowned to herself. Sasuke almost died on that mission. Sakura hadn't questioned much at the time; she had initially thought that Sasuke had managed to avoid getting hit to critical areas on his body by the senbom thrown from that masked boy, Haku. However, Sasuke said that that wasn't the case, that Haku wasn't trying to kill them. Even so, from what she overheard Naruto telling Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke had taken an attack meant for Naruto, had protected him.

'_Just how long has this been going on between those two?!_' she thought to herself. '_Why was Naruto worth rescuing then? I thought Sasuke hated him._' She conveniently forgot that on the same mission, Sasuke had stood in the way of two Mist-nin who were about to attack her as she was defending Tazuna.

Sakura couldn't help questioning her own worth. Like Naruto, she had spent the three years that he was gone studying hard under her own sannin, Tsunade. She had grown strong and become a chunnin before either of her teammates. When she looked in the mirror, she was pleased with what she saw, she was intelligent and an excellant medic-nin. 'S_o what's wrong with me?!? If Sasuke-kun wanted to be with someone, why not me? He's always known that I love him, he even seemed to appreciate my feelings when he left the village for Sound. So, why Naruto?_'

In truth, Sasuke had seemed to warm to her during their genin days. She was the one who knew about the curse seal on him before he left, not Naruto. She was the one who tried to stop him from leaving, and upon declaring her feelings, he had actually thanked her before knocking her out and leaving. But now, for whatever reason, she just couldn't seem to get close to him at all, it felt like he was tolerating her.

Sakura couldn't stop thinking that if she was better, then it would have been her in Sasuke's bed that morning. _Or maybe Naruto tricked him somehow?_ She shook her head and dismissed that thought.

Sakura had watched Naruto and Sasuke during this mission and they didn't behave any differently than they normally did. Naruto could still be loud and hyper, though he had calmed down over the years. Sasuke was still quiet and anti-social. But now, knowing what she did, she could see the concern the raven had had when Naruto allowed his hand to be stabbed in the attack the day before. She noticed how Sasuke paid attention to the blond, how he picked up on the fact that the idiot was out of food, when no one else was even paying attention.

It didn't help her anger any that she actually felt bad that Naruto had shared too much with the little girl. How could he always be thinking about others and trying to make them happy, then go and steal Sasuke-kun away from her? _'It's not like he was ever mine_' she finally admitted to herself. She signed again, _'This has to stop.'_ She couldn't hold onto this anger forever.

She cared about Sasuke, but she had to admit, if she took away the fact that she was attracted to him, there wasn't anything between them except being teammates. He didn't seek her company or confide in her anymore, and when they were younger it was a rare thing. Sakura even acknowledged that Naruto had grown so much and that she truly did care about him and even found him a little attractive as well. As she grew older, she realized all the hardship he had been through and felt guilty if she thought that she was adding to it.

So, here she was, with the realization that Sasuke and Naruto were her friends, she wanted to keep it that way, and she did say that she just wanted them to be happy. "But why couldn't he be happy with me?" she whispered sadly to herself as she looked down at the sleeping face of her one-time obsession.

The sun was now rising as were the campers. Making the decision to start this day new and show her teammates that she was still a friend, she went to her bag and brought out enough rations for breakfast for two. She then made her way over to where Naruto was waking in his sleeping bag. Sasuke appeared to have gone off, probably to meet Nature's call.

"Naruto, would you like to share breakfast with me?" she asked with a tremulous smile as she held out her hands showing the bread and dried meat and vegetables she had. Naruto looked at her utterly shocked by her gesture, but quickly recovered and gave her a huge grin.

"I'd love to Sakura-chan!" and he scooted over making room for her to sit with him and eat. They ate mostly in silence, which was unusual for them, but this was so soon after Sakura called their friendship into question, it was bound to be a little uncomfortable. In the past, Naruto might have tried to break the tension with a stupid comment, but he had been learning recently that such actions generally don't have the best results. Instead, he enjoyed his breakfast and the thought that he hadn't lost Sakura's friendship after all.

All in all, a very pleasant way to begin the day.

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A/N: Yeah, I know, it's a short chapter, but I needed to get this part resolved before I could finish off the mission and bring the boys home. Next chapter next weekend, till then, looking forward to more reviews!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Wow, I think this was my most difficult chapter. Boy x boy lemon ahead, so if this bothers you, I've put up a warning at the beginning and end of the section. For the rest of you, hope you enjoy!

By the way, I'm keeping up with the manga and my story will likely have spoilers as up to date as I can keep it with the manga. Hope this doesn't bother anyone.

Disclaimer: I can't believe we have to do this...No, I don't own the Naruto characters, but the original characters are obviously mine.

Thanks again to all the awesome reviewers for your feedback!

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_-----Dream-----_

_Sasuke answered his door to find his blond friend at the door. It had only been a day since they had gotten each other off for the first time in Naruto's apartment, yet he was relieved to see his rival/best friend. Maybe it was because they were so unsure of what to do with this experience they shared and they needed to find out where this was going. He wasn't interested in prolonging matters and was glad Naruto decided to show up so they could come to an understanding._

_"Hey" Naruto said, entering Sasuke's home._

_"Hn" Sasuke turned to go to his kitchen. "Do you want some tea?"_

_"Yeah, thanks" Naruto toed off his sandals and followed the raven to watch him prepare the tea._

_They stood in silence as the water began to boil, though it wasn't uncomfortable. Each was in his own thoughts trying to determine the best way to broach the subject of the passion they had shared together._

_After the tea was prepared, they sat at the kitchen table to drink. After some moments, Sasuke put down his cup and stared into the green liquid. "We're still friends." It wasn't a question._

_"Best friends" he heard the blond reply and he snapped his head up to see determined blue eyes staring right into his own._

_A weight he hadn't even noticed was suddenly lifted from his chest. Then, almost immediately, it was returned. There was more that he wanted now, contact he craved. "Do you still want to...I mean, the last time we kissed it led to..." he trailed off, not knowing how to finish his question. Naruto cocked his head and looked at his best friend quizzically. Sasuke couldn't completely resist the blush adorning his cheeks and Naruto's eyes widened with surprise, then understanding._

_"Oh." Tanned cheeks turned an interesting shade of pink, but that didn't stop Naruto from continuing to eye the raven. "Yeah..." he finally stated sounding a bit dazed. "I do"_

_They continued drinking their tea in silence, but a sense of both relief and anticipation was in the air._

_Naruto helped Sasuke clean up in the kitchen when they had finished their refreshment. As he finished towel drying a teacup, he couldn't stop himself from teasing the other a bit. "Besides, I know how badly you want me to have you moaning again."_

_Now, he really should have been expecting it, but he was still startled when he found his back against a cabinet and Sharingan eyes blazing into his own. What he certainly didn't expect was the leg forced between his own and rubbing up against him, making him hiss in tense enjoyment._

_"What were you saying usuratonkachi?" he smirked at the other's rising problem._

_Lips crashed togther as they made their way throughout the Uchiha's apartment kissing each other as hands tightly gripped clothed torsos. Remembering the other day and Sasuke's reactions, Naruto's lips found their way back to the pale neck and started to nibble and lick. Above his head, onyx eyes rolled back and a moan escaped soft pink lips._

_Sasuke's hand tangled into blond locks and forced Naruto's mouth away from his neck before he could leave a mark. Maintaining a firm grip, he took the opportunity to unzip Naruto's jacket and latch onto the tan neck exposed before him with teeth and tongue. While leaving a deep red mark that would fortunately be coverable by the high collar of the orange jacket, Sasuke felt Naruto's hands clutch his shoulders and his body arch into his own._

_"Tch, even your moans are loud" he nipped on his friend's neck, right below an ear._

_Not to be outdone, Naruto growled "Blow me bastard." The raven recognized the challenge for what it was and let his body do the thinking for him. He delved his tongue into the other's hot mouth and tongues fenced as he removed the jacket, sliding it down arms and torso, before throwing it to the floor._

_---Lemon Approaching---_

_Still attached at the mouth, Sasuke led them to his bedroom. Naruto's hands made their way inside his shirt to explore his chest as Sasuke grabbed a firm ass and squeezed._

_Naruto took in a swift breath, breaking their kiss. With no hesitation, he pulled off Sasuke's shirt just as the raven had done with his jacket. He traced kisses all over the chiseled chest displayed before him making his way to the nipple on the left. Pale hands clenched in his blond hair, holding his head in place to continue his actions on his friend's body._

_Needing more, Sasuke finally pulled Naruto away long enough to quickly rip off the other's shirt, not missing the disgruntled expression on the whisker marked face at being pulled away. Mimicking Naruto's earlier activities, he licked and nipped his way across the lightly muscled, tanned body. Distracting the blond with these ministrations, he backed him towards the bed till orange covered legs made contact with the edge._

_Stepping away slightly, Sasuke asked a silent question with his lust clouded dark eyes. Equally hazy cobalt provided a silent answer and Naruto's hands made their way to the button on his pants. The sound of the zipper being lowered snapped Sasuke out of his trance and he pushed Naruto back onto the bed who landed with an "oof"._

_The raven finished the job of removing the blond's pants, leaving him displayed on the bed wearing only his boxers. Taking in the sight of this attactive man who was offering himself to him, he quickly removed his own pants and then leaned over Naruto, kissing him thoroughly as their arms crossed, clutching each other._

_Nipping lightly on Naruto's bottom lip, Sasuke then made his way slowly down the lean body, exploring with mouth and hands, revelling in the sensation of contact and the moans echoing in his ears. He wasn't so far gone that he didn't realize he was supplying almost as many moans as Naruto._

_For his part, Naruto just lay under the weight of Sasuke on his torso, his legs from his knees down hanging over the edge of the bed. He couldn't move, he didn't want to. He was too busy **feeling**. Sasuke, his rival, best friend, his most frustrating, beautiful person was touching him, kissing him, licking him. 'Is this really happening?' The aching erection making his boxers tight made it quite clear that yes, this was real._

_Falling to his knees on the floor between spread legs, Sasuke pulled Naruto towards him till the blond's hips were at the edge of the bed and his legs were spread even further. Hooking his fingers in the waistband of the green boxers with orange spirals, he pulled them down, careful of the erection that sprang free of its confines surrounded by golden curls. He felt his own hard on tighten at the sight._

_Bringing his face closer, he was assaulted with the heady scent of the arousal. Taking a tentive lick at the head, he heard the high pitched "ahhh" from his soon-to-be lover. He continued to lick and kiss up and down the penis as his hands gripped tanned thighs, keeping the legs in place. Sasuke gained th__e initiative _to take the swollen head in his mouth and suck lightly before trying to fit more in his mouth. It was ackward and strange and he knew it'd take some getting used to. If the arching body lost in ecstasy in front of him was his reward, then he was certainly willing to learn to enjoy doing this.

_His own ignored erection was starting to demand attention. Wondering how far he could go with this, he brought a hand under Naruto's rear and began to massage a firm globe of flesh. Naruto's moans increased and his hands began to clench in the bedsheets beneath him. He was so close he wasn't even aware of of the finger carresing his anus until it tried to force it's way dryly in._

_Hissing loudly, he raised his head and glared down at his friend who had removed his mouth from his cock. Sasuke looked so guilty and sheepish and even a little confused; he actually looked like a kid who had been caught trying to steal candy, but not sure why it hadn't worked. _

_Unaccountably amused by the imagery, given the situation, Naruto relaxed a bit, "I, um, think it has to be...slick."_

_Naruto knew how sex with a female worked, he had been traveling with Jiraiya after all. However, he knew this was going to be different and ero-sennin wasn't the type to talk much about homosexual acts._

_Sasuke understood and began thinking of what he might have that would work...maybe the lotion he used during winter? He had a good idea of how sex worked as well; Orochimaru was a pervert in his own way, and so slimey. Fortunately, he merely found it amusing to creep Sasuke out with his lascivious innuendos, but never actually touched the Uchiha in that way._

_When he saw Sasuke lost in thought, Naruto lifted himself onto his elbows and decided to be helpful "Well, since you got me all slicked up, get up here and spread your legs." He was a grinning mess, but still managed to look innocent though his eyebrows were wiggling suggestively._

_About to make a sharp retort, Sasuke hesitated as a thought occurred to him. Smirking, he stood up and slowly pulled down his boxers, aware of Naruto eyeing his movements. As he approached the bed, Naruto scrambled to his knees in the middle of the large mattress staring at Sasuke who stalked on hands and knees towards him across the mattress._

_When they were again facing each other on their knees, an arms length apart, Sasuke actually smiled a little and brought his hand to the back of Naruto's neck. "So, return the favor." He gently pulled the blond down, bending him at the waist till he was face to cock with Sasuke and his own ass was up in the air, facing away._

_Surprised by the raven's gentleness, he decided to give it a try. Without much hesitation, he mirrored Sasuke's earlier actions, shy at first, but gaining confidence in the licks and sucks he bestowed on the member. He absently noted that Sasuke was about the same size as he was._

_Above him, Sasuke nearly lost himself in the sensation of his first blow job, but not wanting to let the opportunity go to waste, he sucked on two of his fingers, moaning at both his and Naruto's actions. Once his fingers appeared wet enough, he reached across Naruto's back and slowly slipped a finger into the other. Faltering at the startled gasp felt around his cock, he began thrusting his finger in and out of the puckered hole as his hips started to thrust forward into Naruto's mouth._

_Pulling back his mouth so he didn't choke, Naruto was heavily distracted by the sensations flowing up his spine. As a second finger entered him he couldn't stop his groans. It was odd, but somewhere in him, he couldn't help but crave it, being filled, wanting MORE._

_Naruto didn't realize he had growled out that last word, but Sasuke heard him and removed his fingers. Flipping Naruto around so he was on hands and knees, ass facing Sasuke, he looked down at his saliva slicked cock and positioned himself behind the blond._

_Neither had been thinking much up to this point. They were going on instinct and lust. They didn't stop to think if this was normal, or right, or what anyone would think. Their lives were hell and they had been alone for so long they fucking deserved this!_

_As the raven prepared to brutally plunge into the blond, he heard a hesitant "Sasuke?" He looked up to see Naruto's suddenly wide eyes, comprehension of what was happening dawning on them both. "Are we really doing this?" Naruto asked._

_Gripping the tanned hips, he hissed "Yes" and moved forward. With a gentle, shallow thrust, both their virginities were gone. Naruto's eyes crossed at the welcomed intrusion and he hung his head as a low groan escaped his lips. Sasuke continued his thrusts, going a little deeper each time, his slow movements allowing Naruto's body to quickly accomodate to him until he could go no further._

_"More" Naruto groaned again. Sasuke was happy to oblidge and hastened his pace, snapping his hips forward and back, eyes rolled back in bliss. The feelings were overwhelming, emotionally and physically, he was being encased, welcomed...complete. He felt his release approaching quickly and was dimly aware of Naruto reaching beneath himself to stroke the neglected erection frantically as one long, continuous moan left his lips, building in intensity._

_Naruto screamed as his orgasm was wrenched from his body, tensing and releasing at once till he was face down in the bedsheets, spent. Sasuke barely lasted a moment longer and groaning loudly, he released his seed into his lover's body. Pulling out, he fell to his side, facing Naruto as he calmed his panting breaths._

_While breathing deeply, he saw the jinchuuriki's shoulders start to shake and was worried that he had hurt him. It had been so good for him, he hated to think that it had been bad for the other. Lifting his upper body onto his elbow, he looked over Naruto's shoulder to see his face and was surprised to see him chuckling. Confused, he asked, "Naruto?"_

_Blue eyes met his own, looking completely sated and mirthful. "Damn Sasuke, you have GOT to try this."_

_He snorted, "I just did, usuratonkachi."  
_

_"No baka! You gotta let me top you next time!"_

_Sasuke was against the idea. He thought it would put him in the female position, to let Naruto take him and he would not be 'girly'. Not that he had anything against women overall, he just didn't want to be one. Though, the idea of bottoming wasn't completely distasteful, he just wasn't willing to admit it. Besides, topping was awesome, he couldn't imagine it feeling any better._

_"As if I'd let you...and what makes you think there's going to be a next time?"_

_Naruto looked like he was getting pissed, until he suddenly comprehended what was going on. After all, he had had the same thoughts and doubts before he had accepted that he would bottom on their first time. That was until he felt the stunning sensation of being filled, completed...whole._

_He turned his body to face Sasuke, catching him with a hand on his arm before Sasuke could turn away from him. "Seriously bastard, its amazing. Besides, its only fair that you let me top. This was between us, together, right?"_

_Naruto held his breath, a lot depended on the raven's response. _

_"Hn. We'll see."_

_It wasn't long before Sasuke found himself on his bed again with Naruto, only a few days later. This time he was on his back, arms and legs wrapped around the blond pounding him into the mattress. Naruto was right, it was amazing. Not better than being on top, but not worse either, just different...but still wonderful. He screamed his lover's name as he came on their stomachs and feeling Naruto release inside him with an almost animalistic growl._

_---End of Lemon---_

_-----End of Dream-----_

Sasuke woke with an aching arousal and irritated that they were still on this annoying mission. He secretly treasured his memories of the times he spent with Naruto, especially of their first time, but being in a place where he couldn't handle this uncomfortable physical reminder of his dream the way he would want to made him downright cranky.

His companions were starting to stir as the sun was rising. Not wanting anyone to notice his current 'problem', he got up and walked away from the camp and into the privacy of the trees. After taking some deep breaths and willing away his erection, he was able to relieve his bladder. After finishing his business, he started to make his way back to the camp, but stopped when he sensed a presense nearby.

The presense quickly disappeared and after a moment, Sasuke continued back.

Leaving the trees, he saw Naruto was awake and sitting with Sakura sharing breakfast. As he made his way to his bedding to pack it up, he heard Sakura call out a quiet, "Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn" he replied, but did nod his head in acknowledgement of both her greeting and her gesture to Naruto. He hoped that things would settle down now with Sakura. He appreciated her friendship when they were younger and had no intention of hurting her now, but he also had no intentions of being anything more that her teammate and friend and never had.

After he packed away his bedding into his bag, he sat on a nearby log to eat his own breakfast, allowing Naruto and Sakura time to spend together. He noted she seemed a little surprised by how quiet the blond was being while they sat together. Sasuke internally smiled. He understood a lot about Naruto now, especially that the blond was usually only a loudmouth idiot when he was trying to amuse people (he couldn't stand gloominess), or if he was unsure of himself. The years of training had given the jinchuuriki a confidence that was becoming noticeable. He could still be a baka, but he was less rash, and thought more about his actions. It was one of the things that made him attractive.

Sakura finished her breakfast and got up to leave, but noticed Naruto wrapping up the remains of his meal. "Aren't you going to finish?"

"Nah, I'm saving it for lunch." Naruto opened his pack to place the food inside. "What the..?"

Sakura was about to inquire, but saw that Naruto had pulled out a paper wrapped bundle that, when opened, revealed some rice balls and dried beef. Naruto looked confused and then his eyes turned to Sasuke, who didn't acknowledge that he was aware of anything beyond his own food.

Sakura looked from one to another realizing what Sasuke had done. Unaccountably jealous now that she had tried to do something nice for Naruto, and Sasuke had beat her to it, her lips thinned in mild irritation. Before she let herself backslide to her earlier anger with her teammates, she walked away to finish preparing to leave for the rest of their journey. She tried to focus on the fact that Naruto did appreciate what she had done and keep in mind her that she wanted to remain their friend.

Putting his food away and packing up the rest of his belongings, Naruto got up and passed by Sasuke on his way to the trees to answer Nature's call. "Thanks" he said as he passed.

Sasuke, again, didn't acknowledge anything but the meal he was finishing, but it wasn't necessary. Naruto knew that Sasuke was there for him.

As the party continued on their journey, Sasuke took the time to inform Kakashi of the presence he had sensed earlier. Nodding his head in understanding, the jounin looked over everyone.

Sakura and Naruto both seemed less distracted which was a relief. He had no worries about Sasuke being able to respond accordingly should another attack occur. Takamura and the others were sticking close to the wagon, which Kiri was riding in.

This time, the attack came with little warning. They were just getting ready to stop for the afternoon break when a team of four shinobi came at them, one from each side, their hitai-ate proclaiming them as part of Iwagakure. Unlike the previous batch, these were obviously skilled fighters.

Each of the Konoha nin faced the attackers one on one while letting Takamura's guards be the last line of defense for the baggage wagon, Kiri, and Takamura. All four of the Iwa-nin appeared to be chunin or jounin level.

They all appeared evenly matched with their opponents. The fighters were led away from the wagon so the civilians wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. Naruto left 5 kage bushins behind to help defend there if needed before he lost sight of them as he moved further into the trees.

Creating more clones and hopping around the trees, he was able to confuse his opponent enough to come at him from behind with a Rasengan, which was avoided at the last second, and Naruto wasn't able to avoid the kunai to his heart. The Iwa-nin gave a nasty smile and pulled the kunai away, expecting a spray of blood, but was instead rewarded with a puff of smoke as the clone dispelled.

He was so annoyed with what he thought of as a childish trick, he didn't notice the second Rasengan coming straight at him through the smoke. He was able to dodge enough that the attack wasn't fatal, but was still struck with enough power that it threw his rotating body into a nearby tree. An instant later, a series of kicks and punches sent him into the air and then crashing into the ground, knocking him unconscious.

"Hmm, seems my Uzumaki combo is working just fine. And those bastards say I need to work on taijutsu? Hmph!" Naruto growled out to himself as he lifted his senseless foe over his shoulder and made his way back to the others.

He found Sasuke standing near the wagon over two tied up bodies. Looking around, he noticed that Takamura's group looked really scared and his 4 clones looked a little harried. One apparently had been stabbed before it knew what hit it. Dispelling the rest, Naruto gained the knowledge that a fifth member of the Iwagakure shinobi had attempted to attack Takamura while the others had led the Konoha nin away. His clones had kept the attacker busy long enough for Sasuke to arrive, Sharingan blazing, and quickly incapacitated him after he had finished with his own opponent.

Naruto was always secretly impressed by just how strong his friend is, not that he would ever say it out loud. Though he believed he was just as powerful as the other, he was a little intimidated by how quickly Sasuke had handled both men, even if his bushin were doing their part as well. _'Why couldn't Jiraiya have taught me as much as Orochimaru obviously taught Sasuke?'_

Placing his burden next to the others, he created two clones and sent them in the directions Kakashi and Sakura had gone as he took out some rope to truss up the guy before he regained consciousness.

Sasuke looked his lover over and was happy to see he was just fine; apparently the idiot could fight without getting himself bloody. He diverted his attention to Takamura, who was handing a shaking Kiri off to one of his men, Ando maybe?, Sasuke didn't really care. Takamura then made his way over to Sasuke and Naruto, looking over the attackers.

"You seem surprised this time." Sasuke pointed out to their client. During the last fight, Takamura had been worried, but not surprised, as if he was expecting the people who attacked then. This time, he seemed shocked, not recognizing their opponents.

Takamura didn't reply, just stared dumbfounded at the Iwa-nin. Fed up with not knowing what was going on, Naruto growled out "What the hell is going on?"

Their client finally acknowledged them and when he met their eyes, his face closed off, revealing nothing. "I don't know why these men attacked us, they're not from my town and the only ones interested in stopping me wouldn't be able to afford shinobi from a hidden village."

"Why would someone want to stop you from going home?" Naruto couldn't contain his curiousity.

Evading his answer, Takamura looked around before asking "Shouldn't you be worried about your teammates?"

"Kakashi-sensei finished his guy off a while ago and went to help Sakura-chan. They'll be here in a minute." Naruto had been so informed by his clone sent after Sakura. The one sent after Kakashi hadn't dispelled yet and Naruto figured it was brining in Kakashi's foe. He opened his mouth to continue questioning their client, but was stopped by Sasuke's hand on his shoulder.

"Enough for now. Lets wait till the others arrive, then we'll question these guys" poking his toe at one of the unconscious men "and find out why they attacked. You don't have any objection with that, do you?" Sasuke asked Takamura.

"Not at all, I'm also curious as to why they are here." The man answered, not batting an eyelash.

Grunting, Naruto walked away before he said something Sasuke would make him regret later.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: I'm already starting on the next chapter, so it'll be out on time next weekend. I plan to finish this part up then and bring everybody back to Konoha to get ready for the chunin exams and meeting their new teammate. By the way, I know we all know that this is a fanfic and we want to talk about the romantic stuff, but sex is messy, especially anal sex, condoms should be used - Ok, end of public service announcement.

Quick FYI, I made a few edits to the earlier chapters. Nothing major, but I think it makes it flow just a bit better.

Looking forward for more reviews! You guys are awesome.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry about the long delay. I managed to write myself into a corner here and am being attacked by plot bunnies elsewhere. I'm telling myself that this was a good start to practice writing skills on and that I'll get better. This story has about 2-4 chapters to go till the end.

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

Ok, now I'm starting to get worried; I'm enjoying writing the lemons more than the actual plot and I can't write a fight scene to save my life...this is just sad. I blame those of you who encouraged my lemon writing...so hang your heads in shame! Or squeal in delight, whichever works. I'm also so thankful for those who have supported my having the boys switch, seeing as how I honestly have a lot of trouble seeing either one of them in a permanantly submissive role. Thank you!

That, plus I love writing about a developing relationship, and what better way than a voyeuristic look into the bedroom?

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_---Flashback Lemon---_

_Sasuke woke in his bed as usual, the clock on the nightstand informing him it was nearly 7 in the morning. However, instead of immediately getting up and starting the day, he merely lay there on his side facing the curtain covered window in his room. Something was different._

_Then he felt it, the arm draped over his side. He looked down to see his fingers entwined with tan ones resting on his stomach. 'This is new' he thought to himself as he remembered why there was a body pressed against his back and sleeping in his bed._

_Sasuke and Naruto had been sleeping together for several weeks now and had made a habit of showering after they had sex and then the guest would leave and go home. They preferred Sasuke's home as it was larger and more accomodating. Last night however, their routine was disrupted._

_Naruto and his almost inhuman stamina had been so passionate and the sex so mind blowing that they had been exhausted. After a final round in the shower, Sasuke didn't argue at all to Naruto collasping in bed with him the previous night. He found himself surprised that he also didn't mind waking up in his lover's arms. He distractedly made circles with his thumb on his partner's hand as he thought of how comforting the overall feeling was. Maybe they could do this more often too; they just needed to make sure Naruto always had clean clothes for the next morning in case they ever had to leave in a hurry. That wouldn't be so hard._

_Lost in his thoughts, Sasuke didn't feel the fingers carressing his hand back. He slowly became aware of the leg shifting between his own and the lips nuzzling and nibbling at his neck._

_"Didn't you get enough last night?" he couldn't help asking the blond. Not that he minded, not in the least. They were both naked as they hadn't even bothered with boxers before going to sleep the night before. That and the growing erection already rubbing between the globes of his ass was only increasing his own arousal. He moaned as he pressed back into Naruto._

_"Hmm...gotta get as much as I can before you decide to go revive your clan" Naruto mumbled in his neck, still sounding mostly asleep._

_Sasuke froze for a second. 'Does he even know what he said?' Not able to think further on it as the grinding movements were starting to become intense._

_Naruto continued to lick and nibble against Sasuke's shoulder and upper back as his hand untangled from Sasuke's to reach down and lift up Sasuke's leg enough to move his own further between the pale thighs and was already preparing to push in. This was going fast, but from all their activities the night before neither of them would have needed much preparation._

_Sasuke hand made its way to his own erection and started to stroke himself, hissing a little as Naruto entered him, his movements slow and gentle. They continued to move against each other, softly moaning, the feelings building in intensity. "Naruto" he whispered, but the other still heard._

_Naruto's hand left Sasuke's leg to entwine again with Sasuke's own, which continued to stroke his arousal. Now Naruto was leading Sasuke's hand in the movements, occassionally reaching down to cup and fondle his balls, before coming back to carress him further. Sasuke could feel Naruto's necklace digging into his back, the man never took it off._

_Sasuke's climax caught him by surprise, it had been subtly building till it ripped from him, leaving him satisfied and resting his head on his pillow with a small contented smile on his lips. Naruto continued to move inside him for a few more moments before orgasming as well._

_They stayed entangled for several minutes until Naruto finally fully woke. He seemed suprised by their situation, but after seeing the satisfied expression on his lover's face, he relaxed and grinned, seeming very pleased with the world. "Good morning Sasuke."_

_"Hn." Sasuke pulled away and got out of bed. "Come on, dobe, we have to clean up again now, thanks to you."_

_"You're more than capable of keeping me off you if you didn't want it, teme" Naruto kept grinning at him as he followed Sasuke to the bathroom._

_Not bothering to point out that that wasn't the point, he merely shoved the blond into the shower and turned on the water, enjoying the other's very manly shriek as he was doused in cold water. When the water warmed up, he joined Naruto in the shower and wrapped his arms around his best friend, hugging his back and kissed him on the back of his neck. "Good morning Naruto."_

_Sasuke could definately get used to starting his mornings with the blond._

_---End Lemon Flashback---_

Kakashi returned with Sakura to where they had left the others. Naruto's clone had informed him of what had happened with the others. He was carrying the unconscious figure of what was formally Sakura's opponent and was assured that another clone was likely bringing in his own.

Kakashi was alright, but Sakura was tired, sore, and a little bloody; somehow, she managed to get the strongest of the bunch to fight. It was a good thing Kakashi showed up when he did.

They arrived and found the wagon untouched; Kiri and her companions near it. Takamura was standing near Sasuke on the side of the road where the trees created an overhang. The sunlight was streaming through the leaves, creating shadows over there faces, and the four men tied up at their feet. He recognized one as the man he had fought so the clone must have brought him back. Naruto was pacing and looking aggravated a few feet away. He was the first to acknowledge their appearance.

"Kakashi-sensei! Sakura-chan, what took you so long?" Naruto called impatiently with a disgruntled glance at Sasuke and Takamura.

_'Hmm...nice to feel missed'_ Kakashi thought as he deposited the body near the unconscious men.

"Sakura-chan, you alright?" Naruto asked, noticing her disheveled and blood-streaked state.

"I'm fine Naruto" she grumbled as she sat down on the ground and drank some water from her bottle. She had already healed her injuries, all of which were minor. She was in no danger and only aggravated that everyone else seemed to have fared much better.

Sasuke looked over the body on the ground, noting the wounds obviously made by kunai and raised an eyebrow at Kakashi. "Couldn't keep your's conscious either?"

Kakashi shrugged, "I overestimated his ability to dodge, he was doing a number on Sakura before I arrived."

"Hn."

"So, can we wake the bastards up and find out why they attacked now?" Naruto was practically vibrating he was so impatient.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked at Kakashi, who shook his head.

"I'd prefer to talk to Takamura first; let the Iwa-nin wake up on thier own."

Naruto shrugged, "Just as good, as long as we get some answers."

Finding all the attention now focused on himself, Takamura took a step away from the Konoha-nin. His guards, sensing the tension in the air came closer to him, while leaving one man with Kiri to make sure she didn't get involved with the coming discussions.

Kakashi didn't acknowledge what was quickly beginning to look like a stand-off. Affecting a bored stance, he asked nonchalantly, "Could you please tell us why these men attacked us?"

"I can't tell you what I don't know."

"Bullshit!" Naruto all but yelled, "When you hired us, you ranked this mission as a B, which those guys from the other day certainly didn't merit. You must have been expecting an attack from trained shinobi!"

Takamura started to look flustered, but he had no trouble meeting Kakashi's eye, feeling it better to address the team's leader. "I admit to not being surprised by what happened the other day. However, that was the extent of what I thought might happen, and was even more than I was really expecting. I've never hired shinobi guards before and I thought it better to be safe with a higher ranking, especially as I was told I'd receive genin as protection. I was under the impression that genin were beginners and I was not comfortable with being guarded by children." His gaze strayed to Sasuke and Naruto. "I guess I was mistaken about shinobi ranks."

Nobody felt it necessary to advise him of Naruto and Sasuke's unusual situation.

"So what's up with these guys?" Naruto butted in again, pointing to the still seemingly unconscious men. This was starting to annoy Kakashi as he had been about to ask the same thing, though somewhat more diplomatically.

"I don't know why they attacked us."

Before the blond could retort, Kakashi managed to field the next question. "Then please explain why we were attacked previously."

Takamura stiffened and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't have to answer that. I was assured that my privacy would be respected and I will not accept being interrogated further! If you want answers from these men" he pointed to the tied up shinobi, "then feel free to question them. Just do not take too long about it as I want to be home by tonight and then you can be on your way."

With a huff, he turned to head back to the wagon.

"Why you--" Naruto was startled to see two of Takamura's men draw weapons and take a step closer to him. This was stupid, there was no way they'd be a threat to the Konoha-nin. Without thought, a kunai was already in Naruto's hand, a reflex to seeing a weapon drawn on him.

"Naruto! Step back now!" Kakashi was glaring at him. Naruto did, but kept glaring at the other men, he did not replace his kunai in his holder. "Naruto, go scout around, make sure there's nobody out there."

Recognizing that he was being told to walk away, and not appreciating being treated like a child, Naruto turned with a growl and stomped away into the woods.

Sasuke looked to Kakashi, clearly asking if he had everything handled. Receieving a small nod in response, Sasuke turned to follow the blond. He caught up to him after a few minutes, though they had traveled a good distance from where they left their companions.

Naruto was busy taking out his frustrations on an unfortunate tree that was foolish enough to grow in the jinchuuriki's way. He was punching so hard he was bleeding from his knuckles and had possibly broken some bones in his hands. Watching this behavior continue for another minute, Sasuke decided to intervene. He grabbed Naruto's wrist before he could land another punch and turned his friend towards him.

Without a word, he started pulling the splintered peices of wood from the bloody knuckles, noting with approval how the flesh healed quickly once the fragments were removed. It didn't appear that the blond would be bothered by his wounds at all in a few minutes. _'Must be nice'_ Sasuke thought, a little jealous. Naruto was still breathing hard and didn't look the least bit pleased as Sasuke took his other hand and repeated the process. Once he finished, he released the blond and leaned against the tree, almost as though he was protecting it.

Naruto started pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself, but nothing distinct for Sasuke to catch. Finally, after another few minutes of this, he had had it. Throwing his hands up in the air, he turned to the raven pointing a finger at him and yelling "How can you just stand there as though this doesn't bother you at all?"

Shrugging, Sasuke continued to eye his friend. "It doesn't really and I don't understand what's bothing you so much. I've seen you deal with dangerous situations much better than this. Why are you getting so upset?"

"This is just pissing me off. I don't know why, it just is. My instincts are telling me this isn't right." Naruto started up his pacing again. "I've gotten used to being assigned a mission, go hunt the target, do my job and return. This escort bullshit and not knowing what is going on is irritating. He tells us not to expect any further problems, and what happens? We get attacked and more than twice as hard." The blond's brain now working furiously to keep up with his mouth continued to vent out his frustations. "That's not even all! This has been too easy. Those guys from Iwagakaru shouldn't have been that easy to beat. If they were such chumps, why'd they attack us? And another thing--" Naruto found his tirade cut off as Sasuke appeared in front of him and kissed him thoroughly.

After a half-hearted struggle, Naruto wrapped his arms around his lover's neck and kissed him back, allowing Sasuke's tongue to enter his mouth and fence with his own. The kiss continued as Sasuke backed the blond up till he was pushed up against a tree and then his actions became harsher as his tongue plundered the other's mouth. Naruto moaned and arched his back, pushing his chest against the raven's. It's a good thing the boys had learned long ago to breath through their noses during such activity, because their kiss didn't end for several minutes.

Sasuke pulled away to observe the blond. Naruto's eyes were half lidded and he was leaning against the tree behind him looking thoroughly content with the world. Unexeptedly flattered by the reaction he received, Sasuke couldn't help the smug smirk that appeared on his face.

This was not lost on Naruto. With a half-hearted growl, he stood up straight and attempted to glare at his lover. "That wasn't fair."

"It did what it was supposed to do."

"You mean shut me up?"

Sasuke shrugged, "I could have hit you, but this way seemed more fun."

Naruto snorted, he couldn't deny that he was feeling calmer. "I'm still worried about this though. Five enemy shinobi shouldn't have been that easy to incapacitate."

Momentarily distracted by Naruto's occasionally surprising vocabulary, Sasuke nodded his head. "Let's look around and make sure there's no traps that we got caught in."

They started to walk in an arc around where their companions were still stopped on the road. They didn't spot anything suspicious, and were becomming more alert as they walked as a result. They were both in agreement, this had been too easy.

Suddenly, they felt the chakra manipulation of shinobi using jutsus in the direction of the others. Hurrying through the trees, they arrived in time to see not only the five they had fought previously, but two more Iwa-nin fighting with their teammates. Even Takamura's guards were actually earning the title as they defended the man while Kiri was hiding under the wagon. Not wasting any time, Sasuke and Naruto jumped into the fight.

Now this was something Naruto could handle. No hidden agendas or diplomacy, just a straight up fight, and this time, he could tell that they weren't holding back. He had to evade fatal attacks, use bushin after bushin, and found himself forming a lot of Rasengans as most of them were being deflected. This is where all those recent spars with Sasuke were benifiting him though; instead of losing his temper, he was actually calming. His fighting was becomming more fluid and he was more aware of the combatants around him.

As he continued to fight, he noticed that the enemy seemed to be focusing most of their attention on Sasuke. With sudden insight, he realized that Sasuke was the target. Turning to make the others aware of this, he noticed the man he had fought previously, and knocked out with relatively little effort, was anything but weak now. What was worse, was that he had managed to put himself in the prime position to attack the Uchiha from behind while Sasuke was already fighting two-on-one.

Sasuke had slowly become aware that while it looked like most of the fight was in earnest, it seemed that most of the intent was towards himself. Curious, but not overly concerned, he continued to defend himself. His senses warned him of danger from behind just as he heard a shout of "Sasuke!".

He turned in time to see a blade pass through the back of an orange jacket. Expecting to see a puff of smoke, his eyes widened at the spray of blood that hit his face.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: me no own Naruto 

A/N: Wow! I completely find myself blown away by the review responses I got last chapter, to the point where I had to take the time and not only acknowledge all the reviews from Chapter 7, but also update as quickly as I could. The chapter might be a little short of lemoney goodness and I apologize, but it just didn't feel right for this chapter.

I'm so sorry for the delay, I got into a car accident shortly after my last update (my poor car looks like a crushed can! sniffle) so I'm a little distracted. I've been trying to juggle working my job, classes, the holidays and doing several days of physical therapy a week; but I did try to get this update to you quickly.

Review responses:

Nagini125 - OMG! How did you even find my story so long after my last update?! Thank you so much for reading and leaving that very flattering review. Hope you continue to enjoy.

Gcbella19 - Thanks for the review; it was because of requests like yours that I was writing bits of this chapter here and there on sheets of paper in my doctor's waiting room. I'm sorry for the delay and hope you enjoy this chapter.

E 330 - Thank you so much for the support! Given that this is my first story, it really helps so much to hear that people actually like my writing style. I'm glad you enjoy the lemons, but you're right, I'll try not to overdo them. LOL

xXxKIxXx - I'm glad you liked the chapter and hope that this one keeps you entertained as well.

littleolmee - Another huge thank you for the support. I don't have an account on AFF yet, and I'm working on developing 4 other stories right now, which I'm not posting until I have 3 chapters of each ready, but once I do, I'll probably post both here and on AFF. Pretty much all the questions you asked will be answered in this chapter; it may seem kind of abrupt, but it was never meant to be more. This story focuses on relationship developement between Sasuke and Naruto, so I honestly was never too concerned with building up a big climax regarding this particular mission. I hope that doesn't disappoint you too much.

Dayxxdreamer - I'm glad you think my story is "super good", that gives me all kinds of warm fuzzy happy thoughts. I'm trying to update quickly for you.

EvanNJames - I'm not sure if your comment was regarding the story, or that situation at the end of last chapter. Either way, thank you for taking the time to review and if you like the story, I am so glad...and if not, I hope you'll like some of my upcoming fics in the future.

tedabug - Thank you!!! I'm glad you think my story deserves more reviews and I hope to hear from you again...wink wink.

dragon695 - Wow...you really know how to make me want to improve, and yet feel proud of my current work at the same time. I agree with pretty much everything you said regarding an ideal story and some of the cheesy porno like content that can occasionally be found in some stories (for those stories I say "to each his own" cause I'm sure that there are people who don't like my writing style as well, we all have preferences and if someone's brave enough to post at all, I'm impressed). My plan is to continue to improve to where I can get a good balance of "drama, action, adventure, mystery, and lemony porn" with a bit of humor in my stories. I'm still just starting out, so believe me, I'm not discouraged at all...one has to start somewhere and from what I'm being told, I'm not doing too bad. Yes, I am planning to end this story soon, but have an outline for a sequel in my head, but there are other plot bunnies hopping around that just won't leave me alone. LOL

Yamazaki-Rei - No! I'm sure you have lovely hair so please don't pull it out...pretty please? I'm updating as quickly as possible to keep you happy, see? I hope you enjoy, though the smut content is non-existant in this chapter, tis a necessary evil; there'll be lemony goodness a bit in the future, I promise.

-------------------ON WITH THE STORY-----------------------

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he threw himself in between the sword wielding Iwa-nin and his lover.

As blood trickled from between his lips, he grinned at the wide-eyed man. Before the other could think beyond the orange clad idiot who had thrown himself on his blade, Naruto grabbed the front of the man's jacket and pulled him forward. This action caused the sword within him to move, slicing further through his body. Naruto, however, didn't notice the damange done to himself as he was only focused on his opponent. As soon as the man was within reach and without hesitation, he slashed the Iwa-nin's throat with his kunai.

With the lifeblood flowing from the man, it was obvious he was already dead. Naruto released him and quickly realized that he had nothing, no energy, to keep himself upright. As Naruto fell to the ground, quickly losing consciousness, he distantly heard an incomprehensible shout. He thought it might have been his name, but he wasn't sure.

_'Well, that could have gone better'_, he thought to himself as he lay on the ground. Naruto could feel the blood coursing from his wound and the Kyuubi's energy already being sent to heal the potentially fatal injury. This was worse than when he had been penetrated by Sasuke's chidori; that at least cauterized the surrounding area. In this case, he was practically gutted. But he was unaware of the extent of the damage done to him, he just knew that he was going to be out for some time while he healed. It didn't really occur to him that he might not wake up.

As his energy continued to drain, he became less aware of the fight going on around him. He inwardly grimaced, _'more like a slaughter'_, he noted as he heard the screams of men becoming familiar with a chidori. Sasuke's anger and killing intent was palpable to Naruto and he felt almost drowned by it.

Naruto didn't know how much time had passed before Sakura was by his side, working to assist the demon chakra in healing him. He could hear Kakashi restraining Sasuke, telling him not to kill all of the enemy shinobi. He couldn't see his lover, but he tried to call out to him and help call him down. He wanted to assure Sasuke that he was fine and not to worry. However, he was surprised when no sound emerged from his mouth beyond bloody chokes.

"It's ok Naruto, you're going to be fine, just fine, don't worry." Sakura kept up the mantra, over and over again, as she poured healing chakra into the blond. '_Why are you crying, Sakura-chan?'_ was his last thought before he was surrounded by darkness.

--------------------------------

Sasuke stood at the window of a hotel room looking out into the sunrise over a moderately sized town from the third floor of the building. Behind him lay Naruto, in only his boxers under the sheets, in one of the two beds in the room. They had been there since the previous evening.

Kakashi and Sakura went ahead yesterday to finish escorting their client to his hometown. They were to stay the night there and should be back to rendevous with Sasuke and Naruto by mid afternoon. They weren't concerned of any further problems hindering the completion of the escort mission.

Takamura and the surviving Iwa-nin had provided enough information to make it obvious that the only attacks that would cause concern would only occur if Sasuke was around. That and, though Naruto was no longer in danger of dying from his wounds, he was still unconscious and needed the rest while his body recuperated.

Sasuke looked down at his hands; he had killed 4 men the previous day. When he had felt Naruto's blood hit his face and seen his friend fall, he had been so enraged. He almost found it hard to believe just how much he lost himself to the bloodlust. It was not a feeling he was ever expecting to experience again after Itachi.

It's not that he had never killed before obviously, but it was so rare. Orochimaru used to taunt him for his refusal to kill when sparring against shinobi of the snake's choosing. Many times he was instructed by his former sensei to shed his 'kindness', though he never saw it as kindness. He just didn't believe in senseless killing; it was pointless to him, almost a sign of weakness.

Sasuke killed Orochimaru for survival.

He killed Itachi for revenge, justice, and closure.

He was willing to kill people for a mission if need be.

Those men yesterday, he had killed them out of anger and fear. Fear of losing Naruto. He had killed them for Naruto. That thought frightened him, but what truly terrified him was that Naruto could have died for him.

This went beyond the friendship he had told himself was all there was. Before, despite how close he and Naruto were, it was always friends first...the sex was just a bonus, a way to give each other what they both sought and found in the other. Now, he realized that it wasn't that simple. Their sex and intimacy had led to this.

_'What are we?'_

They were friends, but if he was honest with himself, lovers was a more accurate term.

Yes, they were lovers, but what did that _mean_? Would they always be together? Sasuke didn't like imagining his life without the blond idiot. He liked working with Naruto, who always tried to keep things from getting oppressively serious. Naruto is a good shinobi and one of the few people the young Uchiha believed in.

Sasuke liked sleeping with Naruto. He enjoyed waking up with him, holding him, being held by him. Could that really be permanent? Could they live together? The thought of claiming Naruto as his own, for all the world to know, gave him a feeling of proud pleasure.

_'What about children?' _That thought brought an ache to his chest. Sasuke did want them. Though he was still a teenager by years, he was experienced enough to know that he craved children. This was not just about carrying on his bloodline, carrying on the Sharingan. He honestly wanted to be a father. Naruto could not provide him heirs. He needed a woman for that and he didn't think that a wife would be ok with him keeping a male lover, or any lover for that matter. Not to mention what that position would do to the blond who Sasuke knew wanted to have children of his own some day as well.

_'And what about missions?' _Their decisions obviously were affected by their sexual relationship. He didn't believe that what had happened yesterday would have occurred if he and Naruto weren't sleeping together. What had happened years ago in Wave Country didn't count; he knew that Naruto's body didn't just move on it's own. The moron knew what he was doing. Despite the healing power of the Kyuubi, Sasuke intuitively knew that Naruto would have done the same thing, even if it had meant the blond's death.

_'I killed for him...and he was willing to die for me.'_ Sasuke clenched his fists together as he continued to glare out the window with determination. _'I won't allow him to die for me.'_

Naruto blinked his eyes open to a room that he didn't recognize. He could feel that his body was still tired from all the healing it had to go through, but he knew he was fine. He groaned as he remembered the sword sliding and slicing through his body. '_That had hurt'_ he mentally snorted.

He raised himself to his elbows and observed his surroundings. there were two single beds in the room, one that did not look like it had been touched, two chairs and a small table. He could see the pile of his clothing in one of the chairs. He figured they had been washed as he didn't see any blood on them. His shinobi boots were on the floor near the door next to Sasuke's.

At the thought of the young Uchiha, Naruto turned to the window where his friend still stood facing away from him. The morning sun was illuminating the porcelain skin, contrasting beautifully with the man's dark hair. The young man was fully clothed with the exception of his boots and katana.

He knew that Sasuke was aware that he had woken. He extended his senses out, but couldn't locate Kakashi-sensei or Sakura-chan nearby. He wondered where they and the others were. It was obvious that he had been moved after he lost conciousness; he estimated he had been out for a little less than a full day.

Getting up from the bed, he grabbed his pants and put them on. Walking up behind Sasuke, he slowly wrapped his arms around his lover and placed his chin on the other's shoulder as they both continued looking out on the town that was becoming active with the rising sun.

Naruto was worried; Sasuke seemed so tense, he wasn't relaxing into the blond at all. "Talk to me" he said softly.

Sasuke sighed and removed himself from Naruto's arms then moved to lean against the wall, facing his friend. He looked distracted and his face looked as though he hadn't slept all night.

Naruto felt guilty as he knew that he had worried his friend, but it had seemed like the best idea at the time. Rationally, he was sure Sasuke would have been able to evade the attack. The problem was, he just wasn't willing to risk it.

The raven still hadn't spoken. "Tell me what happened." Naruto tried to stay calm, but he was quickly growing anxious in response to the other's aloofness.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You mean after you proved how much of an idiot you are?"

"Damnit!" the blond growled. "I'm alright and I won't say I'm sorry because I'm not. I saw you about to be skewered and I wasn't going to allow it."

"So, instead you allowed yourself to be gutted! For awhile there your insides were outside and you looked dead! You would have died if it wasn't for Kyuubi. How can you allow yourself to rely so much on the fox?" Sasuke's eyes had flashed to the sharingan, showing how emotional he was feeling. Taking a deep breath, he lowered his eyes and his voice. "Why couldn't you trust that I can fight my own battles?"

"Is that what this is about? You just always have to be by yourself in a fight. Why can't you allow yourself to have help?"

"No, that isn't how it is. _I_ was the one working with my team. _You_ were the one that had to do things your own way! And in the process, you removed yourself from the fight and left us on our own."

Naruto's eyes widened. He hadn't even thought about that. He had not only left the others to fight on their own, but became a burden because they would also have to worry about protecting him. He was starting to feel bad, but he didn't want to admit that protecting Sasuke had been the wrong move.

"So what should I have done? Leave you to fight on your own when it looked like you were going to be hit in your blind spot?"

"No, you should have used your head, or at least your kunai. You could have distracted him or drawn him to yourself making him your opponent. You were more than strong enough for him in a fight. There were so many ways that the situation could have been handled that didn't include you purposefully being stabbed." Sasuke grimaced as he remembered what had happened. The image of Naruto so injured and bloody haunted his mind. What made it horrible was seeing the 13 year old Naruto, beaten at the Valley of the End, superimposed in his thoughts. He never wanted to see such a thing again.

Naruto was feeling foolish and angry. He was usually pretty good at coming up with surprisingly decent plans in the heat of the moment. However, he knew that what he did the day before, he hadn't been thinking about the mission, the team, or himself. He didn't allow that sword to enter his body with the thought that Kyuubi would heal him. He had simply decided that that blade would not touch Sasuke. An admirable thought for a lover, but as a teammate, it was selfish.

With a shock of realization, he understood that they could not work together on the same team if that was how he'd react. He had to trust Sasuke. He had thought he did, but now realized that though he had faith in Sasuke to protect his back, he didn't trust the raven to keep himself safe. His heart sank as he understood that he had definately just weakened Sasuke's own faith in him.

Sasuke watched as various emotions appeared in swift succession on Naruto's face; shock, understanding, self-doubt, grief, anger, confusion and they kept crossing over each other as the blond sank further into his introspection. Sasuke moved away and sat on the unused bed with his back against the headboard and his knees slightly bent in front of him.

He understood that Naruto had to allow his mind to process all the thoughts bombarding him right now, or he wouldn't be able to resolve it in his mind and move on with the conversation. Sasuke really didn't want to have to say everything again later.

It wasn't long before Naruto sighed and turned to Sasuke, his face calm. He sat at the foot of the bed, not touching his friend, but within reaching distance. "So what happened?" he softly asked again.

With another sigh - they were doing a lot of those - Sasuke met Naruto's eyes brieftly before lowering his to his knees. "When I saw you go down, I was angry, very angry, and I killed 4 of those Iwa-nin before Kakashi distracted me and calmed me down enough to realize what I was doing." Naruto made to move forward in a comforting gesture, but the look in Sasuke's eyes stopped him.

"It seems that I got quite a reputation while I was with Orochimaru. There's a substantial reward for me in the Bingo book, higher than Kakashi's. That's why those shinobi attacked; between Kakashi and I, it would have been a good profit form them. They were just too stupid to realize they didn't stand a chance to collect it." Sasuke didn't bother to point out that he was listed as 'deadly, not dangerous'. An interesting thing, he was known as a dangerous fighter, not a killer.

"There's a price on your head?" Naruto whispered. The concept was hard for him to comprehend on a personal level. Of course he knew that strong shinobi everywhere gained a reputation and there were bounties on them in almost every village. But this was Sasuke! Sure, he can make you homicidal with his constant 'hns' and smirks, but how could strangers be after his blood? Protective inner Naruto was snarling at the thought of anyone threatening his Sasuke; until he realized it was this way of thinking that had caused the trouble the day before.

"What did you think, that you could advance in shinobi ranks and not have people want to kill you? I'm surprised you aren't a bit more famous."

Naruto started to puff out his chest at the compliment. "Considering what a big mouth you have." And just like that, the blond deflated.

"Bastard" he growled, but wasn't offended. He saw the smirk playing on Sasuke's lips and any humor was welcome at this point. "So, what did you do with the other two?"

"Bound them up near their dead and Kakashi told them not to be annoying again." Naruto gave a short grin at the thought of Kakashi saying exactly that.

"Think they will listen?"

Sasuke paused as he remembered the sick look on their faces; everyone but Kakashi had been visibly disturbed by the remains Sasuke had left. "Yes, I think we won't be dealing with them anytime soon." He realized just how cold and detached he was making himself so that his own disgust did not become apparent. Unfortunately, Naruto knew him well enough to see that he was bothered by what happened more than he was letting on. Before the blond could open his mouth to question him further, he continued.

"Because you needed rest and I am such a juicy target in this area, it was decided that you and I will stay here, this town was nearby. Kakashi and Sakura were to finish the escort and if there are no problems, then they should be back here by this afternoon."

"Do you know what that guy's deal was?" at Sasuke's inquiring expression, Naruto clarified with a growled "Takamura."

"Ah..." Sasuke grit his teeth. He was still angry about all the needless garbage they had put up with for that man. "The two things he was worried about were a contract and Kiri." Seeing the confusion evident on Naruto's face, and before he could interupt, Sasuke continued. "Takamura comes from a small town that was founded several generations ago by a former shinobi and his family. The were set up to be independant from the local daimyo, but that meant they were without his protection as well. The town has become poor and they were slowly being picked away by neighboring villages.

"Takamura is the younger son of the head family in town. His brother, Kiri's father, died a few months ago. To gain control of the leadership, he took Kiri and has been traveling around with her trying to build an alliance and buy himself outside support. Apparently, the girl is the first to show traces of the family's kekkei genkai in the last 40 years. This makes her valuable and he has been trying to arrange a marriage for her. He had managed to broker a deal with a rather strong village between here and Konoha. He hired us to protect the contract and make sure Kiri wasn't taken away from him while he journeyed home. Once he's in his own village, he has enough protection that he won't need us."

Naruto was pissed. To think that that girl was being used in such a way. Nobody should be forced to get married and have children just to pass on possible shinobi abilities.

He looked sharply at Sasuke. Would Sasuke ever be ordered to mate? Would he feel obligated to follow such an order, even if the intended wasn't of his choosing?

Deciding not to think about that, he turned his mind back to Kiri. He was overcome with memories of the rambunctious little girl. She was just so adorable and he had felt a kinship with her; her love for ramen only increased his liking of the child. It made him ill thinking of her pretty much sold to the highest bidder and told to breed. What if she doesn't like her future husband? _'She should have a choice!' _he internally growled, unconciously clenching his fingers.

Sasuke noticed this, but chose to ignore it. He understood what Naruto was feeling.

"The contract was signed and the agreement was that she would be trained by her family until she is 13. Then she will move to her new home and by 16 will be married. She will be introduced to several men and will have 3 years to get to know her new village and find a compatible husband. Her uncle didn't want her to be miserable. Apparently, that was one of the reasons he had been traveling for so long; he wanted to find a place that would meet his terms.

"Takamura knew that some of his family would opose this arrangement and the only real chance they'd have to stop it would be before he made it to his home. That's why he wanted shinobi to escort him. He didn't trust the mission ranking system, he didn't want a bunch of rookie genin protecting him, so he ranked his mission a B instead of the C it really deserved.

"If he had been honest, then we wouldn't have been assigned to him and those Iwa-nin would likely have never bothered with attacking."

"There's got to be something that can be done for Kiri." Although her situation wasn't as bad as it could be, Naruto still didn't like the idea of her having so little choice in what happens in her life.

"Not without starting a war. Arranged marriages happen and her's will provide protection for her whole town, for her family."

"You're ok with this?!"

"What I feel doesn't matter. Your feelings don't either in this case. You can't interfere everytime you don't agree with something happening in someone else's life."

"But-"

"Sometimes..." Sasuke turned his head away, again looking out the window, noticing how much time had passed and how high the sun was now. "sometimes you have to give up what you want to do what's best for your family."

It suddenly became difficult for Naruto to breathe. He found it strange that his heart had decided to take up residence in his throat. When had that happened? He felt all his insecurities begin to overwhelm him and resolutely beat them back.

Sasuke continued looking away, refusing to meet the gaze of the blond staring intensely at him.

"Look at me."

Cool black met tempestuous blue, which narrowed at the blank expression on the Uchiha's face. They continued staring at each other, a world of unspoken dialogue and feelings between them, neither one willing to break the silence. Both knew what was coming, and neither wanted to take the next step. They knew each other, they valued the bond their intimacy had given them. They also knew that they could not continue as they were.

That didn't mean they wanted to accept it.

Sasuke was the first to speak. "You will always be my best friend."

"It doesn't have to end" Naruto said quickly, almost desperately. "I won't be so stupid in a fight again. I won't let myself forget the mission. I-"

"I want children Naruto."

Naruto's words ended in a rush of air. His eyes wide, he looked like he had been punched. This was the one thing Sasuke could say to stop his argument. This was what he had feared. He wasn't what Sasuke needed; he wasn't enough. He was actually feeling jealous of women and their ability to create life. He almost smiled at the thought, never thinking he'd ever for a second regret being born male. What could he do? He couldn't provide them with children and he didn't want to be involved with cheating on any future faceless wife.

A part of him was angry. Wives and families were in the future, so why did they have to stop now? If this was how it was going to end, why did they ever start?

While all the thoughts and emotions played out in his head, he never broke eye contact with his friend, his now former-lover. What went unsaid, though they both knew it, was that if they really had just been friends with sexual benefits, then they wouldn't have to stop it now. The problem was that they were more, and they needed to stop before they got to the point where they only saw each other.

"We'll always be best friends." Naruto affirmed, giving a sad smile to Sasuke. He didn't insult his friend by trying to force a grin and act as though he wasn't hurting. He got up from the bed and went into the bathroom saying that he was going to take a quick shower.

Sasuke let him go and clenched his fists trying to stop the feelings that were building within him. Damnit, Naruto had broken down some of his walls, and he needed those right now. He needed his stoic mask while he got over this. He knew that the dobe was even now working on his own mask to show the world. He knew they'd survive this. They were still just teenagers, they were each other's firsts, of course it would feel bad to demote themselves back to 'just friends', but they'd survive.

Once in the shower, Naruto let the tears flow down his cheeks to be washed away by the warm, clensing water. His chest ached. He was alone again. Though he and Sasuke would always be friends, it was going to hurt for awhile not to be able to find the comfort in the physical presense of the other. He knew there was no way they could hold each other and not have it lead back to sex; they had to remain physically separate. This sucked.

When he got out of the shower, he dried himself off then put on his boxers and pants again. With a towel around his shoulders, he entered the bedroom to find it empty. The loneliness still clawing at him, he sat cross-legged on his bed and started to channel his chakra. He wanted to know where his reserves were and if he was truly all healed up or if he'd need to go easy on the return trip to Konoha. After establishing that yes, he would be fine, he continued as he was, now meditating. Attempting to clear his mind, he just breathed, he tried to release the negative, depressing thoughts, and for a little while, just exist.

Though he wasn't very good at meditating, he managed to stay that way for nearly an hour, until Sasuke returned.

Entering the hotel room, Sasuke observed the blond for a moment before carrying his bag over to the other's. "I got some food to replenish our supplies." He placed some small bundles into Naruto's bag before making his way over to the torn clothes. "Because your shirt and jacket got so damaged, I got you another shirt. It was the only thing orange I could find." He left the folded shirt on top of the other clothes and then went into the bathroom to do his business, leaving his own bag by the door.

Silently, Naruto stood and approached the shirt. Running his fingers over it softly before picking it up and unfolding it to take a good look. He couldn't help but smile and feel appreciative of his raven haired friend. The long sleeved shirt was mostly black, only the collar and sleeves were orange, but he found it perfect. Putting it on just as Sasuke exited the bathroom, he turned with his arms out as though asking how it looked.

"Hn...it works" was all Sasuke said, but Naruto still saw that smirk.

"Thank you" he said, still smiling.

Without thought, Sasuke reached out his hand to cup a whiskered cheek. Naruto's eyes widened and he held his breath. Before that hand met his cheek, they both turned their heads as they felt the presence of their teammates approaching. Sasuke quickly let his arm drop, mentally kicking himself for what he nearly did. Naruto turned to pack his tattered clothes into his bag.

When Kakashi and Sakura knocked and entered the room, both Sasuke and Naruto were ready to go.

"Any problems?" Sasuke asked Kakashi.

"Nope, all went smoothly."

"What about Kiri?"

"Once home, she was immediately given back to her mother. The village was made aware of the arrangements made, and though not all of them are happy, after Takamura's explanations, it seems that it might be accepted with little opposition. Of course, there's several years for things to change, so we don't necessarily know what will happen. Either way, it's out of our hands."

Grunting, Naruto knew there was nothing more to discuss, "So, let's get home then." He went to exit the room when Sasuke spoke, stopping him.

"As you both know, Naruto and I became involved." Kakashi's face remained blank, but Sakura was clearly unsure how to respond to this statement. "I would appreciate it if neither of you shared this knowledge with anyone."

Sakura snorted, "So, you want to continue hiding it from everyone?" Her voice seemed harsh, even to herself.

Before Sasuke could respond, Naruto said in a voice devoid of emotion, his expression so blank, even Sasuke was impressed. "It was just sex Sakura." Opening the door and leaving, he left them with one final statement.

"And now it's over."

---------------------------

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: So, many delays, for several reasons. So, please forgive me for the long wait and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Warning: Continuing spoilers as the manga continues is always a possibility, though I'll have to do fun things with the timeline, as well as mentions of character death. Mild MPreg bashing, but all in good fun, hope it doesn't offend. There's also the introduction of an OC, simply because none of the established characters had what I wanted. I had wanted to use Juugo, but I just could not figure out his personality enough to bring him into the story in such a way. Sorry, but don't worry, I don't plan on making my OC a powerful or overly important character in this fic.

--ON WITH THE STORY—

The return trip to Konoha was both quicker and quieter. The previous evening when they stopped to rest and eat, Naruto had been talkative, complaining about how useless the mission had been, how unfair Kiri's situation was, and how he was looking forward to the upcoming Chunin exams.  
Sasuke was quiet as usual. Nobody tried to include him in conversations after the first few attempts. He made it clear that he did not wish to be social. Naruto didn't try at all.

Sakura was the one who visibly showed the tension, her gaze would periodically shift between her teammates. She had attempted to talk to Sasuke, but her heart wasn't in it. She instinctually felt as though Naruto needed her more. She could tell that Naruto was hiding what he was really feeling; his cheerful behavior appeared forced to her eyes.

Despite what was said, Sakura knew that what was between Sasuke and Naruto was more than 'just sex'. As much as she would like to believe that this meant that she now had a chance with Sasuke-kun, she was getting tired of fooling herself. From what she had seen on this mission between her teammates, it was obvious they cared for each other. This left her confused as to why they were now acting as though nothing was between them.

Sakura found herself gravitating towards Naruto on the trip back to Konoha. She could sympathize with him a little and therefore, she felt more comfortable with him. She'd listen to his rants and smile faintly at his jokes. She was subconsciously supporting him as a friend; just as he would have for her earlier, if she had allowed him.

Naruto was thankful that his friendship with Sakura-chan had not been ruined and that she was now 

accepting him back into her heart. He resolutely fought down the little voice that bitterly pointed out that this was after he and Sasuke ended their relationship. He kept reminding himself that she had made overtures of friendship prior to that and was determined to not let the sadness of his current situation overwhelm him.

Sasuke noticed Sakura's unconscious support of Naruto. He was both thankful for it on behalf of his friend, and was jealous of Sakura for the attention she was getting. It didn't help to remind himself that this was a position he put himself in. He still believed it was necessary. Although, having time to think on it, and as they came closer to their village, his thoughts got more depressing. He did not like that he wouldn't be taking Naruto home with him tonight. But it was necessary, he kept telling himself. He was sure of it.

_Wasn't he?  
_

Upon their arrival to Konoha, Team Kakashi made their way to the Hokage Tower to turn in the mission report. Kakashi had finished it the night prior, seeing as how even he was feeling the tension cast off from the two young men in his charge and needed something to distract himself. For whatever reason, his Icha Icha didn't help as it should have. Maybe it was because he had a romance crumbling before his eyes and cheap 'love' novels just didn't cut it.

When they reported to the tower, they went to the mission room as per usual, but were instead informed to go directly to the Hokage.

While reviewing the report, and frowning at various parts, Tsunade unobtrusively observed the former members of Team 7. She was happy to note that Sakura appeared to have given up on her animosity to the two young men. That was good; Sakura is too kind hearted to hold such a nasty grudge for long. Though...and her amber eyes narrowed on Sasuke and Naruto. She figured it might be her imagination, but there seemed to be a tension between the two that she had not seen prior. She hoped Sasuke realized just how much a gift Naruto had given him and did not treat his protection with the same indifference that he seemed to treat everything else.

"Is there anything that any of you wish to add?" There was no response from the four shinobi in front of her. She observed them all closely and then nodded her head. "Very well, Kakashi, Sakura, you're dismissed."

After they had left, Tsunade turned her attention to the boys. "As you know, the Chunin exams are in a few weeks. It took awhile, but I decided on a genin to match you up with."

"What was so hard, baa-chan?" Naruto interrupted, curious.

"There were several recommendations. Konohamaru, for instance, but he didn't want to be separated from his current team." Naruto nodded at that, pleased that his young friend was loyal to his teammates. "Hyuuga Hanabi was considered, she's already advanced beyond the skills of her genin team, but to be honest, with her Byakugan, I didn't want that much power on one team." She looked significantly at Naruto, a jinchuuriki with enough stamina and abilities on his own to make him a match for almost any jounin and then at Sasuke, a Sharingan user who could probably take on the rank of ANBU with little difficulty.

"What about Juugo?" The interest was almost perfectly disguised in his tone, but the question alone let the others know that Sasuke was curious as to what was happening with his former teammate.

"Shizune doesn't believe he's ready to be put into any sort of combat situation, which the Forest of Death can certainly be. He's shown improvement and will undoubtedly one day be a helpful member of Konoha. However, it is unclear as to whether he will ever be able to serve as a shinobi."

"So, who did you decide on?" Sasuke asked, accepting the verdict and relieved to hear that Juugo was healing from the trauma that Orochimaru put him through.

Tsunade smirked and rested her chin on her entwined fingers over her desk. "Her name is Daidoji Kaiya, she's been a genin for several years and has participated in the Chunin exams twice before. She made it to the preliminaries last time, but had been so injured in the second exam, she couldn't continue. I'm sure you two will do a better job of protecting your teammate than her previous team. Are there any objections?"

"Why her?"

The Hokage pierced the other blond with her amber eyes and answered his inquiry. "It was a request from several academy instructors. After her last exam, she was removed from her team and has been training with other teams as she can. Most recently, she has been at the academy and has apparently done a good job assisting with the younger students. If she passes this year's exam, then she'll likely have a job at the academy. I don't think she will ever be a squad leader, but if she does have a talent with the younger generation, she will be a welcome addition to the school."

Neither of the boys voiced an objection with her choice. Naruto would have been happier with someone he knew, but as most of the people he knew were no longer genin, that did take away most other options. For his part, Sasuke was unhappy with being partnered with a girl whom they would likely have to babysit, but he didn't care enough to protest.

"We should probably meet her and train with her some before the exam." Sasuke pointed out, it would do no good for them to be in a combat situation with an unknown at their side.

"Now that you're back from your mission, you can meet her and start your training. The Academy lets out the students in about an hour, you can go there then if you wish or wait till tomorrow to introduce yourselves."

"Yeah, okay baa-chan. What do you think?" Naruto asked, turning to Sasuke, who merely shrugged indifferently. "So, this afternoon it is."

Tsunade nodded. "Very well, if that's all-"

"Hokage-sama, I would like to speak to you in private when you have the time."

Naruto and Tsunade turned their attention to the Uchiha, surprised by his request. Lifting a brow, but otherwise not questioning his friend, the blond prepared to leave.

"Actually, Naruto, I want to speak with you now. Sasuke, I will see you tomorrow in the morning before you start training with your team." Bowing his head at the dismissal, the raven turned and left the room without another word.

Confused blue eyes turned to look at his Hokage and widened at the intensity of the stare directed at him. There were no words for several moments until the tension became too much and Naruto looked away. "What were you thinking?" she hissed at him.

Knowing what she was referring to, but deciding not to acknowledge it, he just looked at her in wide-eyed idiocy.

"Uchiha Sasuke is highly skilled; he doesn't need you to be a human shield. Shinobi, at least the ones who want to live to be Hokage someday, should not be so reckless. How dare you endanger yourself like that? How could you be so stupid?" her voice continued to rise until she was yelling at him.

"I get it, okay! Sasuke already told me what an idiot I am and I get it. I should have thought about the team." His sapphire eyes pleaded with her to understand. She did. All too well.

"After the exams, I am separating you two from performing missions together. I would separate you as teammates now if it wasn't for all the preparations that have already been done. There's only a little over a week to go and I don't have time to create two new teams. However, it's clear that you can't put aside your personal feelings while on assignment."

"I never put aside my feelings on a mission! You know that. You know I always act before I think. So why are you separating me from a teammate now?"

"Yes, you act with your heart, but that has never been about you not being able to function as part of the team before. It's because you're intimate with Sasuke that this happened and I am not going to risk this happening again. You have a choice; your lover or your teammate."

"Well Sasuke already made that decision!" Realizing his outburst, Naruto hung his head, fighting back the moisture gathering in his eyes. "We're not together anymore." His voice was barely above a whisper.

Tsunade's brow rose at this admission, but she remained quiet, waiting for Naruto to continue.

"After I recovered, while we were waiting for Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan to complete the mission, Sasuke and I decided that we needed to be nothing more than friends."

"You both decided this?" Her voice was sympathetic; she could tell that her 'little brother' was hurting.

There was a bitter chuckle from the blond, but it was clear he didn't want to discuss this further. "I'd like to do some extra training before the exams; do you know where Ero-Sennin is? He should have been back from his last porn gathering -" he broke off at the expression on Tsuanade's face.

"Jiraiya thinks he has found the leader of the Akatsuki. He's out right now confirming that information."

Naruto noticed the concern she was trying to hide. "Don't worry baa-chan, that pervert can take care of himself. Besides, in the last year, we've taken out several Akatsuki members, so he'll be ok."

"Even with Uchiha Itachi and the others that have been killed, there are still many threats out there, to both the village and you. Not just the Akatsuki. I'm also worried about what you told me about Kabuto trying to resurrect Orochimaru. That alone poses a significant threat."

"That damn traitor" Naruto growled, thinking of the medic-nin turned spy that he had once thought a friend. Suddenly, his thoughts turned in a completely different direction and there was a little hope making its way through him. "Hey baa-chan, you're a medic, you wouldn't happen to know any jutsus that allow men to have babies, do you?"

There was a long pause before, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Amber eyes lit in both amusement and sympathy as she sighed and shook her head. "The concept has certainly been discussed in the past, but quite frankly, the human body is made in a specific fashion. Jutsus can alter the body, but to both create and sustain life, that is just not something men can do. No amount of chakra manipulation will allow for a 'womb' for a baby to grow in without the actual organ itself. Even if surgical methods were used, men still cannot create the eggs to be fertilized."

"Oh..." Naruto looked dejected, before another thought occurred to him. "So me holding a demon doesn't help with that at all, huh? You know, Kyuubi making it so I could get pregnant?"

"Now you're just embarrassing yourself."

Naruto grimaced. He knew he was being foolish, but he couldn't help but hope for impossible dreams. It tore at him that he wasn't enough for Sasuke. That what they had together alone wasn't enough to fulfill all their dreams. That they couldn't be lovers and partners; and Sasuke had made the choice of what was more important.

_'Sasuke's protecting him.'_ Tsunade thought to herself as she watched Naruto struggle with his thoughts. She knew the young Uchiha had spent years with Orochimaru, who specialized in experimentation, and Kabuto, who is an extremely skilled medic-nin. Sasuke would know that to father children he would not need to be romantically involved with a woman, wouldn't even need to have sex with one. He doesn't need to split from Naruto to create heirs. Though, it certainly does make for a good excuse. So, this only left her to conclude that the break up was for a different purpose.

She would like to believe that the Uchiha was scum, she never truly felt comfortable with a man who would, even temporarily, choose Orochimaru over Konoha. However, she couldn't help but feel that Sasuke was trying to be noble, and keep Naruto safe.

None of this was said as she had a feeling Naruto already knew this, deep down. It explained why he obviously didn't fight too hard with Sasuke about the break up. It also explained the tension that she felt between the two. Neither of them was happy with the decision. They worked well with each other. Even if they weren't teammates anymore, if a major mission came up, they would likely end up side by side, they were both filled with so much potential. It was obvious to Tsunade that these two young men had some more issues to work out before a true decision was made.

She allowed Naruto to depart without sharing her conclusions with him. What he needed to do was bury himself in training right now to forget his bruised heart; in that, he was very much like Sasuke.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Shikamaru was walking through the streets of Konoha on his way to meet Temari. She had just arrived from the Sand Village to assist with the final preparations for the Chunin exams. She would be with them for the remainder of the exams and Shikamaru resolutely suppressed any lightness in his heart he felt with this news. He felt the attraction between them, but he was not comfortable pursuing it. The age difference did not bother him as much as the question of loyalties. They were allies with Sand now, but nothing is sure in the shinobi world and he never wanted to find himself opposite her in a real fight.

It was during these ruminations that a bit of orange caught his gaze. Naruto was walking towards him with his head down, obviously lost in his own thoughts. This sight alone was enough to peak Shikamaru's interest. "Oi! Naruto."

The blond head lifted and an immediate smile was on his tanned face. "Hey Shikamaru, how are you?"

"Good. I heard you'll be taking part in this year's Chunin exams."

"Yeah, I'm on my way to the Academy to meet up with my third teammate. We've got to train a bit before the exams."

Before Shikamaru could say anything further, another blond joined them. "Hey cry-baby."

"Troublesome. Temari, I told you to stop calling me that, it's really uncalled for."

"Yeah yeah" she said, waving Shikamaru off, but with a smile on her face. She had really looked forward to seeing him again. Before her face could betray her thoughts, she turned to Naruto.

"Well, if it isn't the shrimp."

"Hey! Who are you calling a shrimp?!" His face was instantly red and his cheeks puffed out comically causing Temari to laugh and even Shikamaru to chuckle a little. One of the things he liked about Naruto was that things tended to not be so serious when he was around.

Not really minding being teased and knowing there was no current basis for the nickname, Naruto let it go and smiled along with the other two. Naruto looked between them and noticed their body language. It was as though they wanted to be closer, but couldn't. He remembered a couple of times when he and Sasuke would run into each other in the village, they would tease each other, but there was something underneath it that they couldn't pursue in public.

Suddenly Naruto felt like he was in the way as he was standing there with these two.

Shikamaru noticed the look and prepared himself for some teasing about being on a 'date' like the last time Naruto saw him and Temari together. So, he was quite surprised when all Naruto did was excuse himself with a smile and saying that he had to go meet up with his team now.

The lazy genius turned his attention to Temari who just smiled at him and asked how he had been. Mentally shrugging, Shikamaru led her further into the village and they discussed the changes that had occurred since her last visit. He didn't know where Naruto's thoughtfulness had come from, but he did appreciate it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sasuke made his way to the yard outside of the Konoha shinobi academy. It had been years since he was last there and there was nothing preventing the nostalgia that occurred. He stood there alone, lost in his memories. He remembered being the object of most of the girls' attention and hating every moment of it. At the time, there was nothing more important than gaining strength and he had no time to waste on people who didn't understand that.

And then there was Naruto. Outright demanding the attention that came to Sasuke so easily, and resenting the Uchiha for it.

Not wishing to dwell on thoughts of the past, Sasuke looked around the vacant schoolyard. It appeared that the students were still inside with their lessons, but they should be out soon. Making his way around the Academy, he noticed his friend sitting on the single swing near the edge of the property.

Naruto briefly looked up as Sasuke approached him, he had been so accustomed to being alone when on that swing, and it was almost a shock to have company. With a sinking feeling, he realized that he was still alone, even with Sasuke there.

The raven then stood next to him as they watched the Academy entrance silently. A few minutes passed and students began leaving the school, chatting and laughing together. Naruto and Sasuke watched, remembering when that same innocence surrounded them; though they themselves had never experienced it at that age. Neglect and trauma had kept them both from ever truly belonging with the others.

"Want to go find Iruka-sensei? He'd probably be able to tell us where to find this Kaiya person."

With a shrug, Sasuke followed the blond past the exiting students and into the Academy. He ignored the stares that they received and the whispers that followed their steps as they searched for the chunin. They continued down the hallways and to their old classroom when they saw a young woman entering just ahead of them.

"Here are the test results you asked for Iruka-sensei." They heard her say as they entered through the doorway into the mostly empty classroom. Both of the male genin took in the girl who appeared only a little younger than them. She was wearing standard navy shinobi pants and a deep olive long sleeved baggy t-shirt, a weapons pouch visible at her waist and a kunai holster at her thigh. Her chestnut hair was in a tight braid down to the middle of her back. Her hazel eyes stared back at them.

All was silent for a moment before Iruka stood up from behind his desk. "Naruto! It's good to see you, did you just get back?" Concerned brown eyes took in the slightly tattered form of his former student, the normal orange jacket were nowhere to be seen and a black and orange t-shirt had taken its place. His mission bag was still slung on his shoulders.

"Um…yeah, we did." Bringing a hand up to scratch behind his head, the blond looked down at himself and mentally cursed himself for not going home and cleaning up first. Oh well, so much for making a good first impression.

"You're alright?"

"Of course Iruka-sensei! As if anyone could hurt the Great Uzumaki Naruto!" With his own good guy pose, he assured the Academy teacher.

Sasuke watched their former sensei take in the blond and knew he didn't believe that everything was fine. He also knew that Naruto didn't appreciate it when people pushed into things he wished to keep private, especially as there was a stranger in the room.

"Hn. As if there's anything great about being a dobe."

"What was that bastard?"

"Do you need me to repeat it?"

"Geez, if you're just going to be a prick, why bother opening your mouth?"

"And if you're just going to be an idiot, why bother doing anything?"

"Do you want to take this outside, asshole?!"

Iruka, effectively distracted from whatever he was about to ask Naruto, shook his head in despair. "Are you two ever going to learn to get along?"

Naruto turned a foxy grin to his former instructor and shrugged while Sasuke merely smirked before directing his attention to the girl who had made herself comfortable leaning against the wall with her arms and ankles crossed.

Noticing his look, she deemed it safe to join in. "Oh by all means, please continue. I was becoming quite amused."

"Don't encourage them!" The poor scarred teacher looked like he was about to throw up his arms in exasperation. Naruto was hyper enough on his own, but it looked like the other two weren't interested in helping keep the knucklehead serious and focused.

Remembering the fourth individual in the room, Naruto bounced over to within a few feet of the wide eyed girl and loudly proclaimed, "Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!" His grin was blinding.

Recovering quickly and with a smile, maybe not as bright, but no less welcoming, the young woman stood up from the wall and boisterously introduced herself. "Hello Naruto-kun, I'm Daidoji Kaiya, your new teammate and future Chunin. Nice to meet you!"

If possible, Naruto's smile widened further. Well, that had been unexpected. He was used to people either snapping at him or laughing at him when he gave a greeting like that. He liked this girl.

_'Great, another idiot.'_ Was Sasuke's thought on the introduction. That was, until she turned her attention to him. With a polite smile, she bowed her head slightly in respect. "You must be Uchiha Sasuke. I look forward to working with you."

For a moment, he had been about to write her off as another idiotic fangirl, but quickly re-evaluated. Her performance to Naruto and then himself had been almost tailored to them individually. Bright and eager, then reserved. Welcoming and polite. _'She's either studied us, or is adaptable to the personalities around her.' _

As she met his eyes with no hesitation, he knew that she had allowed him to read her objectives. She had certainly made them clear. Announcing herself a future chunin, she was placing her trust in her future teammates and then solidified it when stating that she would work with them. Maintaining eye contact, he nodded his head once, just enough to make his own intention clear. _'We'll see how you do.'_

Her smile growing brighter, she returned her attention to Naruto. "So, would you two like to join me on the roof so we can get to know each other a bit? That way, we don't continue to bother Iruka-sensei."

"Oh no! It's no trouble if you all would like to stay here." Iruka honestly looked as though he couldn't decide which he would prefer; he needed to get some work finished so he could leave, but he also hadn't seen Naruto in weeks and he wanted to know what exactly happened on that mission that had the blond looking the way he was. Iruka couldn't put his finger on it, but Naruto seemed almost...dimmed.

"Nah, we don't want to be rude and keep you from finishing your work." Naruto gestured to the desk covered in scrolls. Before turning to leave, he bestowed yet another glittering smile. "However, if you want to meet for ramen tomorrow evening, we could do that."

"I'd love that Naruto." Iruka seemed pacified with that arrangement; he could get his work done then interrogate, err...catch up with the blond tomorrow.

"Great! Your treat. Ja!" And before the poor man could blink, the hyper genin was gone in a flash of orange. With an incline of his head in farewell to the chunin, Sasuke followed his teammate from the room, his face as impassive as usual.

"Was there anything further you needed before I got started with my new team, Iruka-sensei?" The academy instructor found himself facing his temporary assistant once again. He had been surprised by her behavior with Naruto as she is usually more reserved with her generation or her elders. Though, with the children, she would be as warm and open. Iruka frowned inwardly, he didn't like the idea that she thought of the young man as a child. He held himself back from saying anything though; he had enough experience to know not to make assumptions based on appearances.

"No, that's fine Kaiya. Go ahead and get to know them, you'll find them an interesting pair to work with, I'm sure." At her look of confusion, he just shook his head and smiled kindly. "Good luck on the exams."

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei. Have a good evening." Bowing slightly, she made her way to the roof to become acquainted with her new teammates. She could only hope that they would be better than her last.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Once out of sight of the others, Naruto let his smile fall. As he climbed the stairs he berated himself for not cleaning up and getting a better grip on himself before seeing Iruka or meeting Kaiya. He had shown more than he wanted to; he knew he was going to be in for some firm questioning the next evening. At least he would get free ramen out of it.

As soon as he was on the meeting area situated on the roof of the Academy, he found himself hit by nostalgia yet again. Looking over at Sasuke, who had silently joined him, he offered another smile, as if sharing something special. "You know, the last time I think I was up here was when Team 7 met together for the first time."

Sasuke found himself lost in those sapphire eyes as he remembered that meeting; his aims for revenge, 

his distaste for teamwork, his apathy for the village, and his refusal to allow himself to become close to his teammates. Those past feelings, that he still was unsure if they were right or wrong nearly overwhelmed him at the moment. However, this time would be different. He had one strong friendship and was willing to give this new person a chance to earn his respect. He knew both his circumstances and himself had changed. He also acknowledged that the man in front of him had been a large part of it.

Catching where his thoughts were going, he took a quick step back to create some distance between them. He hadn't even noticed when they had gotten close to each other, nearly touching. He hardened his heart to the look of sadness directed at him. _'This is for the best.'_

Sensing the approach of the new girl, Naruto masked his feelings, planted a grin on his face, and made himself comfortable on the balcony rail. He laughed inwardly at the fact that he just took Kakashi's old place. Sasuke stood to the side of the steps where they had all sat as children.

Naruto took the opportunity to closely watch the girl as she passed through the doorway and proceeded to sit on those same steps. He had not missed the exchange between her and Sasuke in the classroom. He knew some unspoken conversation had happened, he just did not know what it was.

He didn't see anything particularly noteworthy or special about her. Usually genin tend to have more distinctive clothes, but some, like her, choose to wear more utilitarian clothing. Except Ino, he knew very few of the females who reach her age that keep their hair that long, but she also chose to keep it confined. There were no distinctive clan markings or jewelry. Except her hitai-ate, which was worn around her neck, she seemed as though she could blend in to anything. As though she'd rather not be seen. He was reminded of Hinata with that thought. Although this girl did not strike him as ever being shy.

Naruto instinctively liked her, but didn't know why beyond his usual attempts to be friendly with everyone. Orochimaru, the Akatsuski, and various other murdering psychopaths not included.

However, he was not one to debate such things for long, so chose instead to inwardly shrug and get to know the girl. "So, tell us about yourself?"

"Well, what do you want to know?" Her expression was friendly and open, as though she had nothing to hide. Naruto knew well how to make that face, he'd done it most of his life.

With an evil grin, he responded as his old sensei had done in the past. "Well, tell us about your likes, dislikes, and goals for the future."

"I like strawberries, I don't like onions, and my goal is to pass the chunin exam."

"What about after that?"

"I'll decide on my next goal after I accomplish that one. So, what about you?"

"I love RAMEN! I hate the time it takes to cook ramen. And my goal is to be the next Hokage." Naruto couldn't help the real smile that came to his face as he realized that he had given a shortened version of the first time he answered that question.

Kaiya was nodding, not surprised by his response. She tilted her head to the raven and raised an eyebrow. "And you?"

His expression not revealing anything but boredom, Sasuke met her eyes and held them. "You know my name and I don't feel like sharing my likes or dislikes." He did not see a reason to pretend to share when no real information had been given by anyone else.

"You really don't have to be such a bastard."

Sasuke just shrugged at his friend. "My interests are not relevant."

Naruto hopped off the banister to stand in front of the young Uchiha. "Would it hurt you to just be nice?"

"You never know." Both boys turned to face Kaiya, surprised by her interruption. "How about we do discuss something relevant then? I've taken the Chunin exams twice and both times the format was the same. First test judged information gathering skills as well as loyalty to your team or village. The second was a team survival test and the third was individual combat. It was not necessary for a person to win in the third competition as long as the genin showed chunin level abilities." She couldn't help feeling a little smug by the looks on her new teammates' faces; she wasn't sure if they were impressed or just surprised by her observations. "Have you noticed anything different in your experience of the exams?"

As Naruto looked more confused than anything else, Sasuke decided to answer for them both. "That was the setup of the exams that Naruto and I took 3 years ago."

"Do you anticipate any problems?"

"Not for me. I can use my Sharingan to get information from other examinees as I did the first time."

Looking sheepish, Kaiya admitted "My former team didn't pass the first exam on our initial try. I managed to bluff my way through the exam the second time. I doubt I could do it again." Facing Naruto, she continued. "Do you already have a plan to get through the first exam?"

Naruto did not look confident, but still pasted on a huge grin. "I'll figure out something."

"Idiot. Your idea of 'information gathering' is to beat it or yell it out of someone. You didn't answer a single question the last time. If neither of you have the inherent skills to get the answers, you should plan a way to work together." Sasuke broke off what he was saying when he realized he had just advocated teamwork. _'Damn dobe. What has he done to me?' _he thought with an internal shudder.

The blond seemed to share his surprise as he stared wide eyed at his friend. "Who are you and what have you done with the bastard?"

"Hn."

Naruto continued to eye him suspiciously for a full minute while Sasuke resisted the urge to throw a kunai at his friend. Blue eyes squinted as they took in every inch of the Uchiha before him, ostentatiously looking for any indication that this was a henge. A dark eyebrow began to twitch. A mouth began to open to question him further when he was interrupted by a hissed warning. "Dobe…"

"Just checking." Chuckling at being able to rile the other up so much, he turned his attention back to his new teammate who had merely watched their exchange with a smile. "Do you have any ideas on how we could work together on that test?"

Shaking her head, she answered with a negative. "I don't know what you're good at or if we'd be good together for this at all. Do you have any particular skills or talents?"

Not used to being asked this, Naruto took a moment to think before answering. "I have a lot of chakra, so my stamina is awesome. I can make kage bushins." Kaiya interrupted him before he could continue.

"Kage bushins?" Though Naruto was surprised by this question, Sasuke understood her confusion. It wasn't unusual for a genin without special training to not know of this technique, as it is a forbidden jutsu.

"Solid clones. Instead of a regular bushin that's used for distraction, a kage bushin is capable of combat."

"Wow, that's impressive. Are there any other advantages to them?"

"Yeah, when a clone disperses, I gain any knowledge that they obtained." Blue eyes widened as Kaiya began to look excited. "How will that be helpful in the test?"

"I'm not sure, but it opens up some possibilities." Looking off to the sky and noticing that dusk was approaching, she stood up. "If you don't mind, I need to run some errands this evening. Will you be free to train until the beginning of the exams?"

The both nodded and Naruto continued. "Do you want to meet by the bridge near the training grounds tomorrow morning at 8?"

"That sounds fine. See you then." With a smile and a short bow she was gone, leaping to the roof of an adjacent building.

Sasuke gained the blonde's attention just as he had been about to make his own, rather hasty, exit. "I have my meeting with the Hokage in the morning, so I will meet up with you two at the training grounds after."

"Okay, no problem." This time, it was Naruto's turn to stop the other from leaving. "Um…what do you need to talk to the old hag about?"

He had been embarrassed to ask, and he knew that he was invading Sasuke's privacy, but he had just become so used to them sharing their thoughts with each other. He regretted asking when he noticed how uncomfortable Sasuke looked as he tried to decide how to answer. His chest hurt when he saw those onyx eyes go cold.

"It's personal."

"Oh…ok. Sorry."

"Goodnight dobe." Without another word, Sasuke was gone in a blur.

"Goodnight." Naruto said softly as he looked in the direction of the Uchiha district sadly. "This is pathetic. I miss you already." He quickly made his way to his apartment, too tired to stop by Ichiraku's that evening. He was emotionally exhausted and his body had still not completely recovered from the damage it had sustained.

As he strode through his front door, he toed off his shoes and threw his mission pack onto his table. Once inside, it was as though his energy had just drained from him and he sluggishly went about heating up water for his dinner which would consist of ramen, of course.

As he waited for the water to boil, he pulled out his clothing repair kit. It just didn't sound manly enough for him to call it a 'sewing kit'. Setting aside scissors, a needle, and orange thread, he withdrew his damaged jacket from his pack.

Hearing the whistle from his kettle alerting him that the water was boiling, he opened a ramen container, and poured in the water. After enough time to allow the water to be soaked up, he ate his meal without tasting the food.

When he had finished his dinner, he kept himself occupied with repairing the tears in his jacket, his stitches small and neat. He was so meticulous that it was difficult to see the damage once he had completed his task. Naruto rubbed his tired eyes and aching hands when he was done. He scowled at the darkened sky and the stars visible through his window. It hadn't been enough to exhaust him right to sleep, he was still awake enough to think, and that was not something that he wanted to do.

Mentally preparing himself, he removed his clothing so he was just in his boxers, and then made his way to his bed. With a sigh, he slipped between the sheets and closed his eyes.

XxXxXxXxX

Sasuke stood in his bedroom staring at his bed which was still rumpled from that morning, several days ago, when Sakura had walked in and disrupted their privacy. He looked around his room and though he could not see many obvious influences of Naruto in his home, his presence was still there.

'_Maybe it is because we've screwed on nearly every surface in this place.' _That thought made him even more anxious as he settled himself in bed and tried to sleep.

Unfortunately, sleep evaded him as his thoughts were plagued by Naruto; his smiles, his touch, his smell…and his body, torn and bloody and turning ashen. With a moan he buried his head into his pillow as his fluctuating resolve had again been strengthened. This didn't help him to sleep though as he had grabbed the pillow Naruto generally used and he was assaulted by his ex-lover's scent.

XxXxXxX

Naruto was tossing in bed, half-asleep and tormented by thoughts of his former lover. With his eyes closed, he could almost feel the man beside him and his body reacted to the imagined proximity. 

Without conscious thought, his hand trailed along his chest, caressing softly before circling a pebbled nipple. Panting lips opened to form a name. _"Sasuke."_

_Pale hands ran along his body, paying attention to his nipples and lavishing them with soft swipes and gentle tugs before gaining in intensity, becoming almost harsh in the pulls and twists before a hand traveled down along a chiseled abdomen. Fingers twined with sable curls before taking the rigid flesh in hand with a gasp from pink lips. _

Sweat dampened and darkened golden spikes as hips began thrusting into a fisting hand. Up. Pressure increases with a squeeze from a hand. Down. Soft caress mixed with the taunt of danger from nails against the sensitive velvet of the hardened manhood. Breathing quickly, mixing with pants and moans.

_Now both hands are busy between the milky thighs. One quickly stroking the leaking cock that ached for the attention of another, while the other rolled his balls and massaged the flesh behind. Images of blond hair and blue eyes and masculine lips playing behind closed lids as moisture slickened the increasingly tense body._

The movements were erratic now as completion approached. Eyebrows furrowed as onyx eyes were imagined looking up from where a mouth was busy engulfing him again and again.

_Almost there…just a bit more. Yeah, like that. Oh yeah…_

Twin cries, separated by roads and buildings, called into the night.

"Sasuke!"

"…_Naruto."_

--

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: This chapter has been through four rewrites and traveled through three different computers to make its way to you. The next chapter will be the last, and my goal is to have it up within a month. I lost chapters of all three stories I was working on and have finally learned to back up my work on a jumpdrive. So, again, sorry for the delay and if the chapter seems rushed in places, sorry about that.

I have also learned that I will be very careful creating OCs in the future, I kept reading my OC's dialogue and realizing that she was coming across as omniscient a lot, and it was annoying. I hope I fixed that.

I would like to thank all those who have reviewed, both on FF and AFF, it is always wonderful to get feedback and I appreciate each and every one of you.

Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto

Warning: spoilers for Manga chapters 404 and 405, some dialog right from the manga, yaoi (man x man), mention of character death, OC

--On with the Story!--

Time seemed to go quickly during the days leading up to the chuunin exams. Sasuke and Naruto worked together building their teamwork skills with Kaiya. Time was spent sparring, discussing various strategies, and improving the girl's taijutsu. She had a firm grasp of ninjutsu and could quickly learn a new technique. The problem was that she did not physically have the amount of chakra or control necessary to use many of the higher level techniques without exhausting herself.

Though they spent time all together training, both young men were surprised when Kaiya made no move to make it personal. They knew nothing about her beyond her shinobi abilities and she never asked about them. After Sakura, who would go with Naruto to Ichiraku's or try to become involved with Sasuke, it was a complete change. Neither could have honestly stated if they preferred the change or not.

Sasuke and Naruto were becoming more outwardly comfortable with the alteration in their relationship; the pain of the separation was decreasing, as all pain does in time. They saw each other everyday; however, they were never alone together. Kaiya was always there, unknowingly acting as a mediator between them.

It was an unspoken agreement between the two young men to keep their distance. Subconsciously, they were drifting apart, but each consoled themselves that this was only temporary. Soon, they would be the best of friends and could put the past pain, and passion, behind them.

When the time for the chuunin exams arrived, they were comfortable in their skills and teamwork. They had no difficulties during the application process, easily detecting the genjutsu put up by the examiners. However, they had decided beforehand not to stand out or draw any attention to themselves anymore than Naruto naturally would with his flamboyant coloring. Fortunately, though Sasuke was known in the higher ranks of Konoha, his history was not widely known among the current genin. He wanted it to stay that way.

Naruto was surprised to see Konohamaru, along with Moegi and Udon, at the exams. Konohamaru was extremely excited taking part of his first chuunin exams, which he was boisterously proclaiming to all.

As in the previous written exams, all the participating genin were randomly given numbers and seated accordingly. In this fashion, teammates were not able to sit near each other.

Morino Ibiki explained the rules of the written exam, again, this was the same. Cheat to gain information, get caught cheating five times and you and your team is disqualified. Nine questions to start and then a tenth question to be given fifteen minutes before the end of the exam.

Sasuke had no trouble completing all nine initial questions as he was able to use his Sharingan to copy from one of the test takers who was having no trouble answering the questions. This person was undoubtedly a chuunin planted within the exam to encourage the genin to copy from him.

Kaiya appeared to be working out the answers on her own. Naruto just sat at his desk, eyes glazed and looking bored.

After several minutes, teams started to be disqualified as members within the teams were caught cheating too often. As one team was told to leave, one of the members, an older teen with spiky brown and green hair, with clothes to match and a hitai-ate proclaiming him to be from the Village Hidden in the

Clouds, leaped over two rows to yell at a chuunin demanding proof of his cheating. Kaiya had to angle her head to the side to avoid being kicked by the loud young man as he flew past where she was sitting. Before the examiner could retaliate, the other members of the Cloud-nin's team were already dragging him out of the room.

Nobody seemed to notice that shortly thereafter both Kaiya and Naruto were busily writing answers onto their test papers.

When time was called for the end of the first part of the written exam, Naruto looked around and counted the number of participants remaining. He was surprised to see only 31 teams left. He knew Ibiki was about to decrease that amount significantly and was starting to realize just how talented a group he had been a part of the first time he took this exam.

Morino Ibiki had no trouble gaining the attention of the entire room. It had been over a year since the last time he was a proctor and he was going to enjoy this.

"You may choose to take the 10th question of this examination as a team or individually." Ignoring the confused grumbles from some of the genin, he continued.

"If you take it as a team and answer incorrectly, then the whole team fails, regardless of the score you have obtained on the rest of the test. If you choose to take the question individually and answer correctly, but another team member answered incorrectly, then instead of failing with the rest of the team, you may choose to answer an 11th question. We are able to offer you this chance since a candidate may be accepted by the end of the exams as a Chuunin while the rest of the team were not. If you successfully answer the 11th question, then you will bypass the second section of these exams and go straight to the third and final stage."

"What if the whole team passes the 10th question? Do we all get to go straight to the end?"

Ibiki chuckled; the sound so malicious it sent shivers down many of the participants', and some of the examiners', spines. "No. You still have to take the second exam with the rest of your team." Grumbles answered his response, but before he could be interrupted further, he indicated a young shinobi with a Sand hitai-ate in the first row, "You!" causing the genin to jump in his seat. "Which will you choose?"

The young man sat up straight, though this did not hide that he found the interrogation specialist intimidating. "I want to take the question on my own."

"What?" exclaimed his teammate from several rows back. "We should do this as a team!"

"No way." The final teammate stood up. "I'm not going to risk my promotion on you."

"All right. All three of you, go out that door", Ibiki pointed to a door to their right, "Once all the rest of the examinees have been separated, the 10th question will be given to you individually." Quickly, the three Sand-nin made their way out of the main exam room.

The participants continued to be called, starting with the front row and working back. The groups taking the 10th question as a team went to the left.

Those that were to take the question individually went to the right. There were several disputes within the teams, however, if all the members did not agree to take the question together, they were sent to the right.

Naruto was the first of his team to be called and asked to make his choice. "I want us to continue the exam together." He did not look at the others, merely continued to face forward.

As he did with the others, Ibiki asked, "Who are on a team with him?" At that, Sasuke and Kaiya raised their hands. Pointing to Sasuke, the scarred jounin asked for his choice.

"We will take it as a team."

Not even bothering to hide his skepticism, Ibiki sneered, "That isn't like you. Are you sure you want to stick with that decision?"

"Hn." That was all the response Sasuke gave to the man who interrogated him upon his return to Konoha.

When Kaiya was asked, she said only, "I stand by my teammates."

"Well, I hope you don't regret it." They were waved to the left door while Ibiki ignored the glare shot at him from the kunoichi.

Once they entered the room, they sat down on the chairs provided and Naruto grinned while Sasuke smirked and Kaiya smiled. There were only three other teams waiting with them and they were nearly halfway through with the separation when they had gotten to Naruto's team.

Not long after they entered, they were joined by Konohamaru, with Moegi and Udon. The young kunoichi was chastising the mini loudmouth, as Konohamaru had made a production about the importance of teamwork and how all the genin who had chosen to continue on their own were idiots. It had taken a threat from Ibiki to remove Konohamaru so that he could continue.

After hearing this, Naruto chuckled and clapped the boy on the back. He looked so proud of his protégé. "I'm glad you're staying together. It's easier to face a problem or an enemy if you're not alone." He avoided looking at Sasuke.

Fortunately, the Konohamaru Corps was not able to pick up on the tension between their male sempai. "Yeah! I don't get why those morons were willing to split up. Don't they know how important working as a team is? I mean, it's so obvious!"

It was Kaiya who chose to answer him, cutting off what looked to be the beginnings of a long, and loud, rant. "It's easy for you to see it because you understand it. However, for most, believing in one's own power and abilities is easier than trusting others not to let you down. Did you notice that it was mostly the younger genin who unanimously chose to separate themselves? Most of the older team members have learned to count on each other and work together. You three are the youngest to choose to remain together."

By this time, several more teams had joined them, possibly inspired by Konohamaru's speech. It was not long before the ten teams sat in front of Ibiki who announced that they had passed the first exam. Few were surprised by this, though they had heard the exclamations of those that had failed from the room to their right.

What did surprise, and scare, them was the second examiner who was introduced to them. Maito Gai, in all his green glory, stood posed before the aghast genin.

"Yosh!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

After recovering both hearing and vision from the double assault of roaring proclamations on the importance of guts and youth and the eye-watering sparkle of Gai's grins, the remaining participants found themselves outside the fenced off training area also known as the Forest of Death. Unlike their first experience with Anko purposefully drilling in fear of the place, Gai encouraged everyone to use the opportunity to experience the Springtime of - what was that again? Ah yes - Youth.

Naruto did not know which of them was more insane, but he was leaning towards the green clad taijutsu expert.

Watching Konohamaru and several of the other younger genin, Naruto grumbled about how loud they were being. Sasuke's expression was incredulous, for him. So his eyebrows rose slightly and his eyes might have widened. Kaiya barely held back her laughter.

"What?"

"Nothing, dobe."

"Bastard."

Most of the veterans of the exam were familiar with the set up. They would have to retrieve the partner scroll of the one they were given at the start. If they did not finish the exam with their team intact and both scrolls in their possession, they would not advance to the final exam.

The scrolls were distributed to the teams, one per team, within a tent so that other participants will not be able to see which team member will be carrying the scroll. Watching the teams pass through, Sasuke could hear grunts from within, but could not make out what was being said behind the barrier.

Once it was their turn to enter and obtain their scroll, Sasuke looked around but did not see anything to warrant the exclamations he had heard earlier. He watched as Naruto made to grab the Heaven scroll, making a note that they would need to retrieve an Earth scroll later to complete their set. As the tan fingers clasped the scroll, Naruto stumbled forward into the table and the scroll landed on the surface with a noticeable thud.

"What the hell? Why is it so heavy?!" Naruto faced Maito Gai with an incredulous, and somewhat embarrassed, expression on his face.

"I decided to make this event more interesting for you all and added weight to the center of the scroll." His teeth gave an extra sparkle as he struck a 'good guy' pose.

Naruto and Kaiya were visibly aghast while Sasuke internally rolled his eyes. He wondered just how much weight was added. He was saved the trouble of asking when Kaiya inquired instead. If possible, the grin got wider.

"Oh, just a few kilograms, not much. Now, off you go, there is still some more teams behind you." Looking at the crack made in the table from the dropped weight, they all thought that if this was 'not much', then they did not want to see 'a lot'.

Naruto hesitated a moment before picking up the scroll and depositing it in his weapons pouch which noticeably sagged under the strain. Sasuke couldn't keep the amusement from his face. Naruto looked incredibly uncomfortable, but neither of his teammates offered to relieve him of his burden as they made their way out of the tent and were led to one of the gates surrounding the forest.

As they were waiting for the signal to enter the training area for the survival exam, the blond kept fidgeting with his pouch, trying to make it more comfortable. Kaiya tilted her head as she observed his movements for a minute.

"With the added weight, it will make it easier to figure out who is carrying a scroll and who isn't. Maybe we should sporadically switch out who is holding onto it."

Sasuke readily agreed while Naruto looked around with an impish smile on his face. Kaiya had been around long enough to know when the prankster was about to show himself. "Yeah, we should, but let's have someone pretend to be weighted down so that everyone will think that he has the scroll instead of letting them focus on the real holder."

The Sharigan user smirked at his friend. "Distraction again?"

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders grinning and Kaiya chuckled. "Well, it worked out well during the written exam with his kage bushin. Though, your clone nearly took my head off when he jumped over my desk."

The blond scratched the back of his head, looking down apologetically. "Sorry about that, but it had to get close to drop off those answers to you. It was only two answers, but hey, better than none, right?"

"You only were able to get two answers?" Kaiya internally wondered if it was possible for Sasuke not to tease Naruto.

"Shut up, bastard! Not everyone has nifty bloodlines, you know?"

Before Sasuke could respond, they were given the signal to start the second part of the Chuunin exam.

Entering the Forest of Death, they quickly jumped through the trees attempting to get as close to the center tower. After scoping out the competition prior to entering the Forest, neither Sasuke nor Naruto were particularly concerned. As such, their goal was to travel as far as they can inward before meeting up with another team. The plan was that they would quickly dispatch a team to get the necessary scroll and then wait out the rest of the exams inside the tower.

After some time of running without coming across any opponents, when they were almost halfway to the tower, Sasuke suddenly came to a halt. Naruto and Kaiya quickly backtracked to determine what was wrong.

The young Uchiha was looking towards the east.

"A fight is going on nearby."

"Let's check it out." Naruto was already heading in the direction that his friend had indicated.

Kaiya had no objections and was rather curious herself. Sasuke merely shrugged and turned to the east where he had sensed the flares of chakra. As they approached, Naruto and then Kaiya were able to detect the chakra flairs of combat jutsu being used and then they heard explosive tags going off.

"Someone is going all out."

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw Konohamaru's team being attacked by Mist-nin. Moegi was trapped and suffocating within a bubble of water. Konohamaru was battling another shinobi largely with just taijutsu, it was from him that the explosive tags had come from. Udon had managed to slow down his opponent with an Earth technique.

Naruto's team stayed back and watched until it was clear that the Mist-nin had gained the upper hand. At that point, they silently decided to interfere. Naruto went to assist Konohamaru while Sasuke freed Moegi from her water prison. As she was fighting to regain breath, Sasuke worked quickly to dispatch his opponent. Unfortunately, this Mist-nin was unnaturally swift, especially on land for a water user.

As Kaiya leaped to Udon's side, she withdrew a scroll from her side and soon, a metal capped bo/staff was in her hands. It looked like the Mist-nin that Udon was facing was about to be buried alive in the earth, where his breathing apparatus would do little good without water. However, Kaiya had a feeling the man was not going to be so easily beaten; she was never comfortable if she could not see a fighter's hands.

Sure enough, the ground beneath them had turned to mud so swiftly that they were unable to leap free before they were stuck to their knees and sinking quickly. Using her staff, she spanned the shallow the width of the mud pit and braced it on the solid ground. Kaiya pulled herself out and reached in to pull Udon up far enough so that he could get a good hold on the staff. Kaiya exited the viscous pool and kept her weapon braced on the ground as Udon got out on the other side. He had mud on his glasses which he was trying to clean them off as fast as possible. Kaiya had fortunately had the advantage of several inches height over the boy so was not in as bad a shape.

They were attacked again by the man, this time with a long kunai. Kaiya grabbed Udon and pulled him into her as she turned with her staff lengthwise along her back. This deflected the primary attack that would have severed her spine, but was not able to completely block the weapon. Gritting her teeth, she pushed Udon away from her and turned again with her staff hitting the man hard enough to crack ribs, but instead of this occurring, his body turned to water. Kaiya stepped to the side and brought herself back to back with Udon facing what were now 3 water clones.

Just as she and Udon were about to counterattack, Konohamaru and Naruto arrived from separate sides and dispatched the clones. Barely a breath had gone by when the last Mist-nin was taken out of the nearby bushes by Sasuke.

Soon, with all three Mist-nin defeated, Konohamaru stood chucking while holding their Earth scroll in his hand.

"Hey boss! Since you guys helped us out, do you want this?"

"Nah. You guys keep it. We already have an Earth scroll and you kids need to get to the tower and rest up." Naruto lied smoothly.

"Hey! Who you calling kids?"

"You, shrimp!"

After checking over the younger genin, the teams split up again and Naruto's team continued towards the tower, at a different angle from the others. However, when Kaiya heard the nearby sound of running water, she asked to stop at the stream.

Once they arrived, she took out her medical kit and tossed it at Sasuke, she then turned and pulled up her shirt for him to see the laceration on her back which had started to soak through her clothes. These would require stitches as none of them were skilled in medical ninjutsu.

When she lifted her shirt to show her back, Naruto turned his head away in a fit of shyness. She had a sports/active bra underneath so she was still decent; she was showing less skin than he saw on most kunoichi, and a lot less than he'd seen when traveling with Jiraiya. Why was he nervous? He was glad that it was Sasuke who was going to tend her wounds.

'_Sasuke.'_

That thought made him quickly turn back to the pair by the stream. However, it wasn't to view her naked skin, it was to observe Sasuke's expression. Now he knew why he had been feeling uncomfortable.

'_Does he find her attractive?'_

He was curious if Sasuke would find her attractive now that he was available. After all, she was intelligent, usually soft-spoken, pretty, and most importantly, female. She did not act as the typical fangirl that Naruto remembered from their younger years. Sasuke could certainly do worse.

In watching the business-like manner in which Sasuke approached his duty in helping the girl, Naruto was relieved not to see any attraction on either party. Sasuke worked in a completely professional manner and did not appear to show any interest at all in the kunoichi, he just paid attention to her wounds.

Kaiya spent the entire time with her head turned away, a kunai clutched in her slightly shaking hand. _'That must really hurt_.' Naruto thought, watching what he assumed was the young woman distracting herself from the pain of the stitches with no anesthetic.

The medical treatment proceeded quickly and silently. When finished, Kaiya thanked Sasuke and cleaned up as swiftly as she could before they continued on.

They arrived at the tower with three days to spare. They had had no trouble obtaining a scroll for themselves and the encounter itself was fairly anti-climactic. Naruto and Kaiya had lain in wait for a team that Sasuke had scouted out and they clash had been utterly one-sided. The other team hadn't stood a chance.

They used this time to rest and refresh themselves while they waited for any following teams to report in before the time was up.

Naruto was initially surprised by how few teams made it through the second exam. Sasuke reminded him of the sheer volume of potential there had been during their first chunnin exam and Kaiya told him how there had only been five combatants for the third stage of her last time there.

Only their team, Konohamaru's, a team from Hidden Grass, and a team from Hidden Sand had made it through; this was 12 competitors. However, only one of the members from the Grass team was in any condition to keep fighting. Moegi, who had been injured again during another confrontation in the Forest of Death was encouraged to drop out as well, but she chose instead to continue on.

As there were only 10 shinobi left, they were informed that the third stage would start immediately. They were escorted into an open stadium filled with spectators. It was not as crowded as was expected by Naruto, as this time there wasn't the buildup that had occurred.

The formalities were observed by the spectators, and largely ignored by the participants. Each individual was excited to get through the upcoming combat, whether they were filled with trepidation or blood-lust, every one of the competitors wanted the fights to start.

The first match was an unfortunate pair up: Uzumaki Naruto vs Daidoji Kaiya.

With a grimace towards the kunoichi, Naruto made his way to the center of the stadium. He couldn't help but feel bad for her situation; he knew that she would not be able to match him and decided that he would go easy on her during the fight instead of quickly putting her out of the competition.

As Naruto fought Kaiya, he kept his actions to taijutsu and very low level ninjutsu, though he really did not know many techniques that were not heavy hitters. Kaiya kept pace with the glorified spar until she had had enough. Stepping back, she made sure Naruto could see the look of rage on her face. Taken aback, he realized how offensive his action was and immediately attacked her whole-heartedly.

Creating several kage bushin, he had her surrounded, until she took out multiple clones with her staff, which she had never used during a spar with him before. Grinning at her, Naruto gave her the compliment of powering up a low level Rasengan. He quickly won, but she had been able to show her talent during the fight and had not obtained any serious injuries.

In another unfortunate match up, Sasuke was paired with Konohamaru. He gave him time to show off his abilities then won the match. Unfortunately, during the fight, Konohamaru lost his temper and did not accept his defeat well.

From that point on, all fights involving Sasuke or Naruto were quickly concluded. It was very clear to any all who were watching that these were two exceptional fighters who had long left the level of genin behind, it was just time to have the official rank reflect ability.

The pairings worked out in such a way that Naruto and Sasuke were the final fighters after over two hours of various combats. Facing off from each other, they only felt excitement. There was no fear, no anger; this was not a contest where a life hung in the balance. There would be no Rasengan or Chidori; they would never use those techniques against each other again.

There was frustration, inner torment, a need to touch the other that could only be done with punches and kicks, but a need for connection, any connection made them anxiously await the signal to start.

For those watching, it was a battle not often seen. It was more a choreographed dance than a fight; the movements were so smooth, strikes blocked barely before they had been thrown. Though there were no destructive techniques, it was a captivating scene for the individuals who could see the true talent and grace before their eyes. It was stamina against technique, hard work against talent, both had earned their skill, and neither could honestly say who was truly superior.

The match ended in a draw.

The participants that had not been taken away for medical treatment were advised that after deliberations, those who had been promoted would be informed within a week.

Several days later in Tsunade's office, they were told that two shinobi from Suna as well as Naruto, Sasuke, and Kaiya were all promoted to Chuunin.

Kaiya was informed that she would be starting work at the Academy shortly.

Naruto was told to relax until his next assignment.

Sasuke was informed that he would have his next mission shortly and no further details were given at that time. Naruto was perturbed to note that Sasuke didn't seem at all surprised that he'd be given a mission so soon.

Two days later, Naruto had not seen his friend at all. He had not gone to see Sasuke and, though he had deliberately been in areas that his friend frequented, he never saw him. Naruto did not like that they could not seem to interact alone together anymore, it still hurt.

Naruto was given a message to report to the Hokage's office. He looked around and noticed Kakashi, Sakura, and Sai were awaiting him along with Tsunade. Curious about the grouping, he asked, "Where's Sasuke?"

All the occupants in the room kept their expressions carefully blank, though uneasiness and even a little sympathy could be detected in the air.

"Sasuke has a mission coming up and there is no reason to distract him with this news at the current time. Now, Naruto, I want you to meet Fukasaku-sama." Tsunade indicated an old, short toad that was sitting upon the back of another toad near her desk.

Naruto was confused, as evidenced by his squinting eyes and furrowed brows. Before he could question why there was a toad in the room whom Tsunade was showing such respect to, the toad himself decided to speak. "So, you're Jiraiya-chan's pupil, huh?"

He didn't know why; maybe it was that his personal life had completely turned up on itself, maybe it was being unsure of where he stood in his world at that moment, he didn't know. But hearing his teacher spoken of as though he was a child, no matter how he referred to the man himself, Naruto just felt angry with the little toad. "'-chan?' _'chan?!' _ What, do you think the perverted hermit is your summoned animal? Just what is this wrinkly old toad's problem?"

"Watch your mouth, brat! He's Jiraiya-sama's teacher, a great and wise figure who taught him hermit style ninjutsu." The Hokage looked as though she was contemplating breaking her desk over the boy's head.

The toad, Fukasaku, merely chuckled good-naturedly. "'Perverted hermit?' You've got the same attitude as yer master, kiddo."

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, but also impatient to get this over with, Naruto relented. "All right, old toad. What do you want to tell me?"

An air of expectancy fell over the room. Though the other members of Team Kakashi had not said anything, it was clear that they also were curious as to what message this master toad could bring.

"Where do I start?" Fukasaku asked himself somberly. "Guess I better just tell you. Jiraiya-chan was killed in battle."

Gasps of shock were heard from Sakura and even Kakashi. Not from Naruto, though. He could not even breathe after hearing that news. It took him some time for his mind to even comprehend the words that had been spoken. The only thought in his head was '_no'. _

"Tsunade," he ignored her flinch at his use of her name in such a cold voice. "You said he was checking up on information, not that he'd be fighting. How could you let him go if he was going to be up against the Akatsuski by himself!"

"That's enough, Naruto." Kakashi understood grief, but he couldn't condone the young man taking out his anger on their leader.

The blond continued to glare at Tsunade, her gaze not wavering from his own as she tried to share his grief. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and shook his head. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he muttered, "Fuck this." He ignored Sakura calling his name and the Hokage telling her to stop. He just left.

Naruto did not want to talk with anyone at that point. He just wanted the pain of another precious person leaving him to be gone. This was too much.

Walking through the streets of Konoha shortly after the sun had set, he saw a shopkeeper about to close his stall that sold ice cream and other frozen novelties. Remembering years ago, when Jiraiya had bought a double popsicle for them to split and share, he bought one and sat on a nearby bench.

While the popsicle melted down his fingers, his thoughts were engaged with his memories of his time spent with the perverted sannin. It was like this that Iruka found him. Naruto didn't look up as his former instructor sat down next to him.

"I heard about Jiraiya-sama."

"I wanted him to keep watching me. I wanted him to be here when I became Hokage, to make him see me do more than just screw up." His voice was so fragile, so lonely. Iruka didn't think he'd ever seen Naruto outwardly express sadness as much as he currently was.

"Jiraiya-sama had nothing but praise for you. He'd brag about you, how you were practically his grandson. How you were a man who'd inherited his spirit. He never doubted for a minute that you'd grow up to be a powerful Hokage. Jiraiya-sama will always be watching over you, I'm sure he's looking down on you right now, wherever he is."

Azure eyes, darkened by grief and shrouded in tears looked hopeful at his words.

"But if you just sit around sulking, he won't be able to brag about you. So..." the Academy teach reached over and grabbed half of the double popsicle. "Don't stop being the person who earned all that praise. Be yourself and cheer up. Jiraiya-sama would not want you to doubt yourself because he is gone. He would not want you to live your life in regret."

Iruka had moved to kneel in front of his former pupil, giving him a smile and waiting for one in return.

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei."

'_He would not want you to live your life in regret.'_

XxXxXxXxXxX

In Sasuke's apartment, he was thinking about how he had requested a mission away from the village to give himself time away from Naruto. Despite outward appearances, his wanting of the other man had not decreased. Though the pain had lessened, the need to be with the other had not. He didn't understand why he was not able to look at Naruto and see the knuckleheaded blond that most others saw.

The reason was simple, because he knew that Naruto was so much more. However, he was sure that he would be able to change his mindset to reflect what he wished, given time. That was the purpose of an away mission as soon as he was promoted to Chuunin. He needed time away to get his head together.

He was preparing to leave the next morning. He had just finished packing when he heard a knock on his door. Opening it, he found Naruto in tears.

Before Sasuke could say anything, he was pressed against a wall and being kissed fiercely. Instinctively returning the embrace, Sasuke kissed him back until they had to pull away for breath. Naruto immediately started nuzzling and nipping along his chin down to his neck. "Naruto, what's going on?"

With his head buried in his best friend's neck, Naruto begged, "Let me be enough." His voice was choked with emotion and the words were barely recognizable.

Not understanding what was going on, Sasuke pulled away enough to see the blond's expression and was blown away by the grief he saw there. "Naruto –" he had to avoid another kiss aimed to silence him. "Wait. We can't."

"Don't, Sasuke. Don't turn me away tonight. Please?"

Sasuke didn't feel the tear coursing down his cheek as he forced himself to grab hold of Naruto's wrists and push him away. "I'm sorry, but I have to." '_I have to.' _Those words made him ill, as did the look of heartbreak in front of him.

After several emotional moments, Naruto pulled his wrists free of Sasuke's loosened grip and turned to leave the apartment.

As he was opening the door he heard his name called softly behind him. He stopped, but did not face the other man, he couldn't.

"Naruto. What happened?"

For awhile, neither moved, unsure of how much time had passed before Naruto turned his head and looked over his shoulder. "No regrets" he softly whispered to himself. Firming his resolve, he lifted his gaze to meet Sasuke's. Sapphire clashed with onyx.

"I'm in love with you."

Sasuke's jaw dropped and before he could come to grips with the confession just made to him, Naruto was already gone.

Alone once again, Sasuke sat on a nearby chair thinking about all they had been through, his fears, and how he had pushed his lover away. Looking over at his mission pack and remembering that he was leaving early the next morning, he thought about how much his leaving would affect them. It would give him time to move on, but Naruto had already made the step to confirm them as more than friends. Now he can't just leave it alone, he has to choose between love and safety. Once again, he'd have to make a difficult choice on what relationship he could have with the blond.

With an explosion of movement, the former avenger punched his fist through the opposite wall, his Sharingan spinning wildly. All the tumultuous thoughts and feelings finally coalesced to form one statement ripped from his lips.

"Fuck!"

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Ok, here is the last chapter of GTGA. An Epilogue can be added later if requested. I'm not requiring a specific amount of reviews or anything like that, just if anybody wants it, let me know.

I was a little discouraged by the lack of response to the previous chapter, so I hope that my further works provide more entertainment. I had been working on some other stories that I unfortunately lost when my computer went explode-y, so I've had to rewrite from memory, and noticed how similar two of them were, so I'm just conglomerating those into one story that will start being released shortly. It will likely be the only MPreg I will ever write; a plot bunny knocked me over and bounced on me repeatedly so I'm just going to go with it.

Thank you to all those who have reviewed and encouraged me throughout this story.

XxXxXxX

Sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the small apartment in Konoha. A few empty ramen cups on a table and clothes strewn over the otherwise tidy space gave evidence that the occupant had not been concerned with cleanliness the night before. Golden rays created a shaggy halo around a tan face as eyelids slowly blinked open from the brightness dragging the young man from his sleep. Red rimmed and baggy eyes provided further proof of a restless night.

Groaning, Naruto rolled to his side curling his body around a pillow while pulling a sheet over his head to block the light. He was not quite ready to face the day yet. There had been no momentary cheer at the bright morning then the downing realization of the events of the day prior. He woke up well aware of the facts of his world; Ero-sennin was dead and Sasuke did not want him.

He briefly contemplated marking all chirping birds as his eternal enemies, but thought that that might just be a little petty of him. It was too much to ask that the world stop and take a breath with him. No, he had to move with it or be left behind. _'Troublesome as the effort would be.'_ He did not even have the energy to chuckle at his thoughts taking on the voice of the lazy genius of Konoha.

Sighing, Naruto sat up in bed and stretched his arm muscles, feeling his body loosen up before standing and continuing his morning stretch. Once he felt limber enough, he proceeded with his morning routine into the bathroom.

It was later, with a stomach satiated on instant ramen and getting ready to leave his apartment that the blond noticed a note addressed to him by the front door. '_Someone must have slipped it under the door after I went to bed.'_

Opening the letter, Naruto felt his breath catch when he recognized Sasuke's handwriting. Stumbling backwards, he eventually landed in a chair and, heart pounding, began to read the message.

_'Naruto,_

_I'm sorry for not being able to reply to you last night. I should have, but I don't know what to say. This situation is hard for me - _Naruto snorted at that – _shut up, usuratonkachi, I know it is hard for you as well. _

_I will be completely honest. _– a golden eyebrow arched – _I care for you. You're my best friend and I never want to let you go. I want you with me, always, but to express love…that's dangerous. - _Naruto was confused. Dangerous? –

_If we were together, as lovers exclusively and officially, there would be no going back. You could never leave me, I wouldn't let you. I will always have enemies and I do not want you ever caught in my fight again, I do not want to see you hurt because of me again. Ever. _

_I know that I could get a surrogate mother for a child if I wanted, I'm an Uchiha, it wouldn't be hard. –_ another snort - _But what about you? Would you truly be happy with that? You deserve so much more; you deserve a stable family, whole and happy, not one with the history that I would bring with me._

_You could have so much more than me._

_Naruto, I had to leave early this morning for an extended mission that should last about a month. I promise to use that time to consider all that we could and should be. I promise to have an answer for you when I return, but I cannot promise what it will be. There are many reasons why we shouldn't be together. I'm sorry that I have to do it this way, but I need the time. I hope that you will also take the time to think about everything that I've said._

_Sasuke'_

Naruto was completely still, the letter sitting innocuously on the table between his hands. Clear blue eyes looked out the window at the peaceful scene of Konoha continuing on, seemingly without a worry. '_Safe…'_

When considering the welfare of a village and a country, 'safe' definitely seems to be the ideal situation. But in a relationship, is safe what he wants? Does he want to have a safe romance? Is there such a thing? Naruto knew that with Sasuke, passion and pain travel the same road. Can their passion last and overwhelm the pain they both feel? Was it worth it?

With a sigh and the beginnings of a smile, Naruto returned his attention to the letter in front of him. "Alright, bastard. I'll wait to hear what you have to say, but I'm more stubborn than you. Remember that, teme."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Tsunade stared unblinkingly at the other blond in the room. She knew he had a lot of personal issues that he was working through and that what she had just told him was not going to make him feel better, but it would help in the long run. She was sure of it.

Waiting for him to respond to the statement, she observed the young man. He seemed worn, but, she was relieved to note, not tarnished. Whatever was going on in his mind and heart, it hadn't broken him. He had not apologized for his outburst the last time they saw each other, but she did not need him to. She felt the same grief and anger that he did, but the fact that he was standing before her with no looks of accusation let her know that he was no longer blaming her for Jiraiya's death.

Bringing her attention to his parting lips, she prepared herself for whatever exclamation he was going to give her.

"What?" The softly asked question filled with disbelief, and a hint of excitement, surprised her. Perhaps he didn't understand her the first time? Well, this _was_ Naruto she was dealing with.

"As I just said, gaki, Fukasaku-sama will take over your training. You will go with him to the Myouboku Moutain to learn the hermit arts. Jiraiya wanted you to have this education and I agree. The lessons you will receive will help you against Akatsuki."

Naruto chewed on his lower lip, looking conflicted. Despite everything, Tsunade had expected him to jump at the chance for the type of intensive training that he was being allowed to have.

"When will I leave?"

"You have today and tomorrow to prepare and then you will leave two mornings from now."

"How long will I be gone?"

The Hokage placed her elbows on the desk before her and linked her fingers together to provide a rest for her chin. "I don't know. It took Jiraiya years to finish his hermit training."

"Years?" The exclamation didn't surprise her, but the desperation on his face did. "I can't be gone that long! I have to be here when Sas-, um…" Tsunade raised an inquiring brow, silently asking him to continue. He sighed, holding his arms before him, begging her to understand. "I have to be here."

"Naruto, you have to go. This training is very important. Anything worth your attention will be here when you get back."

"I can't be gone!" He was yelling now, as if the volume would make her understand his need.

"Naruto!" It was so rare for her to use her 'Hokage' voice with him that he instantly quieted. "If the Great Head Hermit will allow, you may visit occasionally during your training, but you will go." Holding up a hand to forestall any further debate, she continued. "Trust me, this is for the best."

"Can't I leave later, in a few months, after I've worked out some things here?" Anger and now bargaining.

"No. I'm sorry, but no. You will leave in two days. End of discussion!" she raised her voice again when he opened his mouth to continue his protests.

His shoulders slumped as he admitted defeat. Lowering his eyes he nodded his head. "I'll go get packed."

Acceptance.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Two days later, Naruto was met at the gates by the Hokage and all his friends that were currently in the village to bid him farewell. Shikamaru and Temari stood close to each other as they gave their wishes for his safe journey. Neji provided stoic words of encouragement. Well, as encouraging as Neji ever gets.

Iruka-sensei had treated him to ramen the night before and was a silent supportive presence. Kakashi-sensei did not say much, but had courteously put his constant companion away during the good-byes. Naruto vaguely wondered if the man's porn could breathe after being in a pocket for so long.

Even Sakura had given him a tearful hug and he appreciated her thoughtfulness. He was disgusted with himself for wondering if she would take advantage of his absence to renew her pursuit of the youngest Uchiha. It was not like him to be so bitter and he shoved those feelings down as far as he could. Such thoughts were beneath him and unworthy of her. He did not doubt Sakura's friendship, he would not.

With a large smile that almost hurt to see, Konoha's most surprising ninja said farewell.

Before he could leave, he was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug, his head buried in Tsunade's neck.

"Train hard" she whispered in his ear. '_Hurry back' _was left unsaid, but understood.

"I will," he whispered back, "baa-chan." Pulling away, he went to stand next to the toads and in a reverse summons, was gone.

Outwardly, the Hokage ordered everyone back to their duties. Inwardly, Tsunade was radiant with relief. He forgave her.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Sasuke looked up from the tree branch he and his team stopped on to see the gates of Konoha between the swaying leaves of the surrounding forest. Never before had he returned to the village and felt like he was coming home in the way that he did now. With a gesture of his head to the village, his companions shot forward with him not far behind.

The mission had gone well; he had been sent to scout areas around Rice Country with the members of Team 8. Since the death of Orochimaru, the region had been in chaos with rogue nin and bandits harassing civilians in several towns. However, while he had been preparing for the Chuunin exams, the area stabilized. His team had been sent to find out why.

He was surprised to find that he did not mind working with Team 8. Kiba was loud and obnoxious and though he would never be able to compare to the dobe, Sasuke was able to put up with the behavior. He might have even found it strange to be on a mission for Konoha and not have a loudmouth near him. He got to know Hinata, whom he had never paid much attention to in the past. Seeing her work had raised her in his estimation and he found her to be a competent kunoichi and he felt confident in trusting her as a teammate in a hostile situation. Sasuke felt the same about Shino; the Aburame's kikai bugs were very effective in their scouting operation.

Sasuke was relieved that he had had no problems being temporarily assigned to Team 8. It was further proof that he would be able to survive in Konoha, that he would be able to work with others, and not just Naruto.

As they approached the Hokage tower, he found himself keeping an eye out for sunshine blond hair. He was aware of every person, structure, and alley the passed. His senses were tuned to a single presence and he couldn't find him.

Needless to say, Sasuke had made his decision and he wanted nothing more than to blow off their meeting with the Hokage and find his dobe.

"Damn, Uchiha, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were excited. Don't tell me you're actually happy to be home?" Kiba knew by now not to invade Sasuke's personal bubble. That didn't stop him from cracking jokes at the young Uchiha's expense.

"Hn." Of course, that didn't mean that Sasuke felt like bantering with the dog-boy. That was a privilege reserved for Naruto.

"As chatty as Shino." Kiba muttered and quickly thought it wise to shut up when he felt a glare directed at him from his bug-loving teammate. A sound, suspiciously similar to a giggle erupted from Hinata, but when her fellow shinobi turned to her wide-eyed, her head was down and her pace quickened towards the tower.

Without any further discussion, they made their way to Shizune who escorted them to the Hokage. Their debriefing went by tediously as they explained that a clan, native to the region before Orochimaru took over, had gained power and elected a new Otokage. There would soon be an official Sound village which, fortunately, did not appear to have any hostile intentions towards Konoha. Tsunade questioned them thoroughly; weary of a new power emerging.

Once they finished explaining what felt like every detail they each experienced, the meeting was over and Sasuke was eager to leave the office.

"Sasuke, stay a moment. The rest of you are dismissed." As Team 8 departed, Tsunade turned her full attention to the young Uchiha. "I thought I should tell you that Naruto has left the village for further training and will likely be gone a long time."

He hadn't realized just how warm he had been feeling since entering the village that afternoon until he felt the coldness that drenched his being like frozen water at those words. Naruto was gone? Was it because of him? Was the dobe running away because Sasuke had been such an ass? He should not have taken so long to get his thoughts together, he should not have hesitated to answer Naruto's love. His fear had been to lose the blond and now he was gone.

"Is there anything else?" Sasuke had to exert a monumental amount of control on himself to not allow the heart-breaking emotions to show and to keep his voice steady.

Amber eyes narrowed as Tsunade observed the dark-haired young man, his apparent lack of reaction to the news she had given annoyed her. Though, she had to admit, she doubted she would ever see him overcome with emotion and wasn't sure if she would want to. "You may go."

With the barest nod of respect to his Hokage, Sasuke left to return to his home. He did not pay attention to the people on the streets or the vendors he passed. He watched the sun fall lower behind the buildings. No longer was there a golden orb surrounded by pure blue. Now he saw the sky lit up with the colors of fire, deepening till a bloody curtain covered the horizon which would soon open to the night sky.

Shaking his head at his fanciful thoughts, he noticed that he had arrived at his home and had been standing there for some time. Taking out his keys and unlocking the door, Sasuke wondered if he would always enter his apartment and feel the emptiness he currently felt.

As he went about unpacking his belongings and preparing his evening meal, he remembered times that he would come home with Naruto. They would fix their meals while discussing the day's training, with the obligatory groping session when the mood struck. Or they'd have an argument and wrestle and then, possibly, make out while grimacing around the split lips. They would sit together and eat and Naruto's table manners would improve simply by learning through example. Sasuke found it interesting how Naruto really did pride himself on the cleanliness of himself and his belongings considering the general crudeness in his behavior. He never asked, but he assumed it was yet another instance where Naruto simply wasn't taught about what was appropriate and what wasn't.

After finishing his meal, cleaning up, and showering, Sasuke entered his bedroom again as it was time to sleep. Stripping down to his boxers, he did a double take at the object sitting on his bedside table. Since when was there a ceramic frog, an ugly one at that, in his apartment? Lifting it up for closer inspection, he wondered if this was some sort of odd gift from Naruto or a joke from someone else.

At the thought that maybe Naruto hadn't left him without a word and angry at being rejected, Sasuke felt hope. He was annoyed at how melodramatic he had been acting since hearing that Naruto had gone. He sat on his bed contemplating the object he held in his hands, twisting and twirling it to view at all angles. _'What are you telling me, Naruto?'_

Sasuke felt a crack along the base and, inspecting it closely, saw something stashed within the ugly green and orange amphibian grinning at the floor. It took some maneuvering, but he was able to retrieve the piece a paper without damaging the little frog. He just couldn't bring himself to break the possible gift from Naruto. He unfolded the paper and read the message left for him.

_'Sasuke,_

_I did what you asked. I thought about everything we've been through and what could be in the future and my feelings haven't changed. I love you and I don't want to stop. Maybe there are reasons why we shouldn't be together, but I don't care. I want you. If you think I'm going to walk away from what we are together, then you are the idiot you claim me to be. I've spent years chasing you and I won't stop now even if I'm away when you read this._

_The old hag has sent me to train in the hermit arts that Ero-Sennin studied. I wish he could have taught me himself, but the pervert had to get himself killed by the Akatsuki. We heard about it the day before you left and I don't know if anyone told you. Bastard, I want to destroy that damned organization. They are ruining too many lives and I'm going to make them pay! So, I'm going to train and become stronger and then I'm going to come home. I'll become Hokage and then I will join the shinobi of Konoha together to declare war on those assholes and we'll win. It's a promise of a lifetime. _

_Will you wait for me? Will you be by my side?_

_Please?_

_Your Naruto. Always yours. Whether you like it or not, teme.'_

Sasuke's hands shook crumpling the paper in his grasp. Naruto still loved him. He hadn't held Sasuke's abrupt departure against him. Sasuke would return the favor and not blame Naruto for wanting to train in such a specialized form. He would repay Naruto for all the time and effort the blond had devoted to him. This was his promise of a lifetime.

He remembered the tears on his beautiful scarred cheeks and the hurt in sapphire eyes when he turned Naruto away. He felt sick to his stomach when he realized that Naruto had been grieving the loss of his teacher when he came to Sasuke for comfort.

'_Never again. I will never see him hurt like that again.'_

Standing up with the note and frog in hand, Sasuke approached his bookshelf. On one of the shelves lay a single item; his slashed hitai-ate. Slowly, almost reverently, he placed the ceramic frog next to his old Konoha headband, then folded the paper neatly and put it beneath a corner of the grinning amphibian. For now, these three items would be his reminders of what was important in his life.

Returning to his bed, Sasuke turned off the light and slid beneath the covers sighing with contentment. With his head on a pillow he closed his eyes and faced his lover in his mind. "Yes, Naruto. I'll wait for you."

"I'll always wait for you."

--The End.--

AN: Yes, this is pretty much the ending I envisioned when I began this story a year ago. It was my first fic and I've gone through some trial and errors with ideas and writing styles with it. I had planned on a sequel when I started on it, but honestly, I could probably sum the whole thing up with an Epilogue. So, I'll leave it up to the readers:

Do I let it end here? The angst has been resolved, they love each other and have promised to be reunited. Or do I give a peak into their future with one final chapter? Maybe with a lemon?

FYI, the final chapter of "What is This?" will be out next weekend for any who are looking forward to it.

Thanks everybody!


	12. Epilogue

A/N: Ok, here we go, the final - yes, final - chapter of my first story! (cue music, parade, confetti, ect) Hope you all enjoy and thank you for any who have been with me since I started this. The reviews and alerts I have received have been wonderful and much appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and make no money from this piece of fan fiction.

Warnings: Manga spoilers, mentions of character death

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The sun rose bringing warm light to the village, illuminating shinobi going about their duties and civilians opening their shops. The golden rays traveled over trees and between buildings trying to reach every living thing.

However, they were prevented from touching everyone by the curtains strategically placed by a certain dark-haired man who valued his sleep. Others could enjoy waking with the dawn. His wake-up call came from within his home.

So it was that Uchiha Sasuke was awoken not from sunlight invading his senses, but from a constant tickling right underneath his nose. Cocking his head to keep himself from sneezing, he looked down into a mass of gold that –to him - outshined the sun.

Closing his eyes and clutching the body closer to his own, he held on just enjoying the feel of his companion. When he felt arms tightening around him and a leg tangling further with his own, he knew he would not be allowed to sleep any longer.

Opening his eyes, he met the most beautiful blue he would ever know. They leaned together till they were touching foreheads, their noses lightly bumping.

"Morning," his angel whispered.

"Hn." Sasuke closed his eyes and buried his head into the warm shoulder. "This is a dream."

"Is it?" The question was a breath across his dark spikes.

He nodded his head not moving it from its perch. He felt safe and warm and did not want to open his eyes and have it all disappear.

He felt golden arms tighten around him before fingers began carding through his hair. If he wasn't an Uchiha, he might have purred. On second thought, not even his ancestry could keep the moan of contentment at bay. Sasuke felt the chuckle that rumbled from his bedmate all along his skin.

"Well, if this is a dream," Sasuke was rolled onto his back and he opened his eyes again to take in the mirthful blond who settled between his spread and pajama clad legs. "Does that mean that we have time for a quickie?"

A door slamming prevented Sasuke from answering and Naruto groaned as he rolled off his partner and sat up in bed with a pillow in his lap, glad that he hadn't had time to get truly aroused. Sasuke only had time to sit up against the headboard and grumble, "Apparently not," before their bedroom door was flung open by a bright ball of energy that launched himself on the bed with a cry of, "Otou-san! Chichi!"

Landing on the bed between Sasuke and Naruto was a young boy with bright blue eyes and dark blond hair still clad in his pajamas and bouncing on his knees. "Why are you still in bed? Don't you know what today is?!"

Anything further he might have yelled was cut off when pale arms snaked around his middle and he was brought against his Otou-san's chest in a tight hug. "Yes, Minato, we know what today is. Instead of yelling at us, why haven't you finished getting ready?"

"Because I wanted to make sure that we wouldn't be late today so I had to wake you up."

Naruto chuckled, letting Sasuke deal with their rambunctious son as he looked towards the door where a rosy little raven haired child stood watching the scene. Eyes sparkling, the blond man held out his arms for his daughter to come and join them.

Sighing as only an Uchiha can, she shook her head at him. "Chichi, we're six years old. I'm too old for _cuddling_." She said the last word with a rather haughty little shudder. Before she had time to berate her brother for his childishness - which they all knew was coming - she was lifted squealing in the air and deposited into the waiting arms of her blond father.

Nodding his head at his clone which grinned wickedly before dispersing, Naruto laid his daughter on the bed so she was facing up. "Be careful, Mikoto-chan. If you keep being so serious, people might think that you're an Uchiha." Opening her mouth to defend her ancestors, all that came out was shrieking giggles as she was ruthlessly tickled.

Minato, never one to be left out, hopped onto Naruto's back and began to tickle the sensitive area behind the older blond's ears. Laughter and giggles erupted within the Uchiha-Uzumaki household.

Sasuke sat back contentedly watching his family roll around the large bed and occasionally across his legs. Chuckling, the older raven wondered how they could all have so much energy so early in the morning. Before long, he found himself with his arms full of once squealing children, now panting from the exertion of their morning workout.

His twins knew not to try to tickle him as it would be a waste of their time. Instead, they cuddled against him and simultaneously, as these siblings were wont to do, turned towards Naruto inviting him to join for the post-tickle cuddle session now that the tickling had been concluded most satisfactorily.

Sparkling sapphire took in the beautiful image of his lover and their children reclining together and all looking at him with welcome and love. Filing the image away in his box of favorite memories - which had been overflowing the last few years - Naruto decided it was time to get his family moving.

"Come on, kids, get ready for your first day at the academy. You better hurry if you want breakfast before we go."

"Yes, Chichi!" Minato was out the door and down the hall before he had finished his exclamation. Mikoto had regained her 'dignity' and extracted herself from her dark-haired father and gracefully exited the room.

Rolling his eyes at their antics, Naruto crawled the short distance to his lover. Sasuke once again found his arms full, this time with a gorgeous man who had promised to always be his. Sharing a chaste kiss, they took a moment to bask in each others presence.

Smirking, Naruto bumped Sasuke's nose. "If it were a dream, we would have had all morning to devote to various amounts of naughtiness."

As he got out of bed and dressed he heard a grunt, sounding suspiciously like a "hn" behind him as his lover followed him. After dressing and preparing for the day, they made it to the kitchen to cook breakfast.

Well…Sasuke cooked breakfast and Naruto prepared the milk and tea and set out the dishes. He then called out for the twins to hurry and soon Mikoto joined him at the table. Her sable hair was pulled into a high ponytail that fell to her shoulders. She wore dark blue shorts and a black shirt. On the sleeves of her shirt were two different emblems; on the left was the Uchiha fan and on the right was the spiral Naruto favored.

"Hey, baby girl."

"I'm not a baby!" With a toss of her head, Mikoto sat at the table puffing her rosy cheeks indignantly like an offended chipmunk. Her onyx eyes flashing at the insult to her maturity.

Resisting the urge to ruffle her hair - he wanted to keep his fingers intact - he took a light hold of her chin and tilted her face to meet his gaze. "You'll always be my baby." With a quick peck to her forehead, he made a hasty retreat to the other side of the table. He could only hope that she found something to distract her from planning some sort of reprisal; the girl could hold a grudge. _'Just like her father.'_

As if summoned, Sasuke appeared in the dining room with their food. As the adults were sitting down, Minato finally joined them.

His hair, while darker than Naruto's, was short, spiky, and he loved it. His eyes shone a brilliant blue, though of a lighter hue than his father's. His clothing mimicked his sister's, including the spiral and the fan on his sleeves. However, his shorts were black which was fine as far as his parents were concerned. It was his shirt which caused them to cringe. It was a bright, glaring green that he loved and insisted upon wearing because "Lee-jisan is so cool!"

As the family ate their breakfast, Sasuke watched Naruto and Minato race to see who could eat faster. Mikoto and Minato both followed the older raven's example and kept good posture; which was quite the accomplishment for Naruto's son. And when she forgot herself, Mikoto would laugh and smile just like the two blonds.

The men felt joy when they saw their children showing signs of being a mix of both of them. Usually, the kids' mannerisms and behaviors could be traced back to both of their fathers. Though sometimes an expression would only bring to mind the twins' mother. It was a reminder to Sasuke and Naruto that they had a friend to thank for their family. She had lent her womb and eggs, one fertilized by Naruto's sperm, the other by Sasuke's. She had a special place in their hearts for her generosity.

Once they finished their meal, Naruto created a kage bushin to clean up and put away the dishes while the shinobi and the kids left the house.

They walked through streets that had been repaired from the final battle with Akutsuki several years before. People greeted them and were answered with smiles or a nod by the passing family.

Minato chattered happily about the excitement of starting at the ninja academy. He was sure - and loudly proclaimed - that he would be the Number One student of the school. Mikoto was quick to point out that that would require beating her, which she had strong doubts of ever happening. The haughty lift of her nose and the resultant enraged puffing out of Minato's cheeks had their parents repressing chuckles at the 'cuteness' of the scene.

"Don't forget Nara Sayu, with her parents she'll likely beat the both of you." Sasuke was relieved to see his children redirect their competitiveness to a third party - even if it was the daughter of their friends, Shikamaru and Temari. He didn't like it when the twins fought each other trying to prove who was better. Though, when they had a common goal, they were nearly unbeatable. Years of dodged chores and missed bedtimes had taught Sasuke and Naruto that well enough.

"If she's not too lazy to bother," Naruto whispered in his ear before straightening up and walking ahead with Mikoto who was anxiously walking towards the academy.

"Otou-san, look it's Kaiya-neechan!" Minato was pointing at the woman in the academy yard while tugging on Sasuke's arm.

"It's 'Kaiya-sensei' now that you're a student."

"Oh yeah." Minato scratched the back of his blond head as he was reminded. Not to be embarrassed for long, he ran up to his sister and continued with her to their new teacher.

"Mikoto-chan, Minato-chan, you're just in time. Go on in and follow the other students to your classroom. We will be beginning soon."

"Hai!" Minato called without a backwards glance to his parents, running into the school and hoping to see which of his friends would be joining him at the academy. He was looking forward to seeing his friend Inuzuka Kenshin. His parents, Kiba and Hinata, were good friends with the Uchiha-Uzumaki family.

With a cheeky grin, Mikoto waved, "Hai, obaa-chan!" and ran after her brother.

Twin braids flying, Kaiya's head snapped around to gape at the back of the little raven. Hearing a snort of laughter behind her, she turned to fully face the parents of the chibi-minx. "Obaa-chan?!"

Naruto lost the battle and started laughing while Sasuke, unable to stop the smirk on his face, tried to soothe the teacher. "Think of it as a compliment. That's what Naruto always called Tsunade-sama and the kids know it."

"I think it's more likely she's channeling her Chichi and his feelings towards authority figures."

"Hey! I don't have a problem with authority."

"Only because you're the highest authority in the village, Hokage-sama."

Naruto couldn't argue with her on that. "Well, good luck with those two, you're going to need it." As they turned to go their separate ways Naruto called out. "Don't forget, in two weeks, we've got a meeting to discuss this year's batch." Not waiting for a reply, he continued down the road with Sasuke. The day was beginning and they both had places to be.

Kaiya smiled to herself as she walked into the academy and made her way to her classroom where she could already hear the rambunctious new students. Since Naruto had become the Hokage, he had made an effort to be aware of every aspect of his village, including what goes on in the academy. He wanted to make sure that each student was given the assistance they needed to reach their potential. He and several teachers would meet a few weeks into every new school year and talk about the children, who had the most potential, who might have hidden talents, and who might need the most attention.

It was a good arrangement and progress reports kept him, as well as the other teachers, aware of the status of the students. It was hoped that this would prevent occurrences where hidden geniuses – Nara Shikamaru – are undiscovered until their genin training, or students who need more personal interaction – Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, Rock Lee – are ignored, or the acknowledged prodigies – Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Neji – arrogantly receive the accolades, but are not taught teamwork or humility.

Keeping both the Hokage and the academy instructors aware of all the students progress had increased the amount of responsibility all the adults felt. Having a better understanding of what each child needed made it easier to teach them and the students seemed to flourish with the attention. They were very happy with the results they were seeing once this new method had been implemented.

Leaving the Academy behind, Sasuke and Naruto leisurely walked towards the Hokage Tower. Soon, their paths would diverge and they enjoyed their time alone together, even if they were technically in public.

***********Flashback*************

_It was not long after Naruto had nearly completed his hermit training and had been welcomed back to the village – and Sasuke's arms – that Pein attacked Konoha. His goal was to obtain the Kyuubi no Kitsune, but he underestimated what he would face. The resistance by the village shinobi was intense and Pein chose to temporarily retreat, but not without causing serious damage first._

_He never returned to Konoha. Naruto had been true to his word and after the necessary time to heal the wounded and prepare a plan, the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf and their allies took the battle to Akatsuki. It took years and effort, but the organization bent on world domination was annihilated._

_However, shortly after the battle in the streets of Konoha, Sasuke was alone and confronted by a man who identified himself as Uchiha Madara. He told a story of sacrifice and betrayal and urged Sasuke to join with him against Konoha, the village that had used Itachi then turned their backs on him. Assured of Sasuke's cooperation, Madara allowed him to return to the village unmolested to conduct his own 'investigation.'_

_That night in Naruto's bed, he shared all that he had been told. How the Uchiha clan had planned a coup to take over the leadership of Konoha. How Uchiha Itachi was recruited by the power-hungry Danzo and ordered by the Council of Konoha to destroy the Uchiha clan. How Itachi lost his status as a loyal shinobi to take the blame so the village would not know the cruel lengths the powers behind the Hokage would go to. And lastly, how Sasuke's life had been saved by his brother's demands, his protection insured by his brother's threats, and how Itachi sacrificed himself to try to preserve peace for the village he loved._

_When asked if he thought it could be true, Naruto was not able to say. He didn't want to believe that such a lie could be allowed by the Sandaime Hokage, but he knew from personal experience that a village-wide deception could be both endorsed and enforced by the Hokage._

_Sasuke, falling into grief, wanted immediate revenge. A punch from Naruto literally knocked some sense into him. After an argument filled with tears, yells, and kisses, they decided that they would find out the veracity of Madara's claim and demand atonement from those guilty if the story turned out to be true._

_Naruto did not fear that Sasuke would threaten the village itself and he too felt the need to obtain justice for the slaughtered people. They wanted to punish those responsible for such a tragedy. Naruto strongly believed that even if members of the Uchiha clan had planned to take over, it could have been averted without mass bloodshed._

_Together, they arranged a meeting with Tsunade and shared with her the accusations made against her advisers and the head of Root. Showing signs of enraged disbelief, the Hokage immediately went to the sealed records and found the proof in her old teacher's handwriting. After reading through the information she had found, she passed the scroll to the two waiting young men._

_Seeing a confirmation for his fears, Naruto raised his eyes to face his lover and his leader and asked, "What do we do?"_

_It was Sasuke who answered with a deadpanned, "We kill them."_

***************************

Sasuke and Naruto had nearly arrived at the Hokage Tower when they stopped for a moment. The blond man smiled into his lover's eyes, "I'll see you at home tonight."

"Do you want me to pick up the kids?" They had decided that they were going to be there for their children as often as possible. That included walking them to and from school whenever they could.

"Yeah, I've got something I need to take care of, but I'll be home by dinner." Naruto continued smiling at the man he loved enjoying how domestic they had become.

"Hn." Sasuke didn't need to say anything more. With a tilt of his mouth that could almost be called a smile, Sasuke turned away as Naruto continued into the tower. Making his way perpendicular to the route they had just taken, he took to the roofs before arriving at his location.

The Konoha Police building stood proudly. After Sasuke assassinated Danzo, Naruto was unsure of what to do with all the leaderless Root ninja. He didn't want there to be two separate divisions of ANBU and wanted to make use of their training while keeping them controlled. It was Sasuke who created the solution: rebuild the police force. The Konoha Police Force had been mostly maintained by the Uchiha clan. When the clan was massacred, the police had been all but extinct. With Sasuke, various volunteers, and a large amount of former Root shinobi, the police were strong once again.

While Sasuke was on his way to his office, he passed Sai who was about to lead a squad out to patrol the village. Now that they were able to keep Konoha itself secure, it freed up the ANBU and Jounin of the village for high level missions which brought in more money for the whole village. Konoha was steadily gaining in prosperity. The two dark haired men nodded to each other courteously as they passed. Though they were not friends, the work that each had done to help those abused by Danzo and improve the security of the village had earned each others respect.

Sasuke sat at his desk going over the reports of the previous night's activity. Nothing too exciting, some drunken idiots who had been locked up for the night, a couple fights had occurred, nothing serious. Overall, the civilians were relieved to have police patrolling regularly again. The crime rate, though never too high, had significantly lowered in the past few years.

Alone in his office, he leaned back in his chair and thought of all they had accomplished and smiled.

***************************

"Good morning, Hokage-sama." Naruto was greeted as he traveled the stairs and hallways to his office. As he entered, he nodded to Neji and Shikamaru who were waiting for him. Neji was the head of his ANBU corps. Once Naruto had closed the door behind him and the three were alone, Neji removed his painted mask and waited for his Hokage to sit. He stood tall and handsome, his hitai-ate was worn around the neck, his unblemished forehead proudly displayed.

Shikamaru was acting as Naruto's assistant while Konohamaru was out of the village for a few weeks. If he wasn't so lazy, he'd be standing in front of Naruto with a large stack of paperwork and getting ready to force the young Hokage to do his work. However, he wasn't that motivated which is why he was lounging in a chair his eyes vaguely staring out of the window at the sky.

"Hey guys!" Naruto bounced into his chair and put his feet up on the desk. He grinned at his friends waiting for the news of the day.

Neji presented the Rokudaime with a completed mission scroll and detailed the success of his team's recent job. In true shinobi fashion, they had spies in every country and Neji's team had met up with their contact in Amegakure. Naruto was happy to read that the region had maintained stability even with Pein's defeat. The last thing the ninja countries needed was for another war to occur. Unfortunately, just because they didn't need it didn't keep some groups from wanting more devastation. However, Konoha and its close allies Sunagakure, Hoshigakure, Kumogakure, and Otogakure were all more concerned with peace between the countries and just doing their job as shinobi.

After Neji had been dismissed and told to enjoy some free time with his family, Naruto sat back and observed his cloud loving friend. When he had asked Shikamaru to take over Konohamaru's duties while the newly made jounin was out on a training mission, he thought that he was doing the man a favor, but if Shikamaru was asked, he'd say it was too troublesome to babysit the Hokage.

The silence in the office was companionable as Naruto handled paperwork and Shikamaru took a nap. The young Hokage enjoyed it while he could. He knew he had an appointment with Sakura to discuss improvements necessary for the hospital and then a meeting with his Council after lunch and there was a lot to go over. Though Tsunade had often complained about the work required, Naruto hadn't truly believed how much administrative work went into being the Hokage of a Hidden Village. So much politics.

He was thankful that the advisers he had were more reliable than the ones Sandaime and Tsunade had to deal with.

When the truth of the Uchiha Massacre was revealed to Naruto and Tsunade, she told them that there was no way to bring the orchestrators to official justice. They couldn't reveal it to the public because Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu could claim that what they had done was for the good of the village. The possibility of it being turned into a propaganda war that would destroy any chance that Sasuke had for peace in Konoha was too great. Also, Tsunade had already officially signed the documentation necessary to make Naruto her successor but it was obvious that her advisers whom she inherited from the Sandaime would oppose her decision.

To prevent any further damage done by the power hungry councilors, Tsunade authorized Sasuke to assassinate them as long as he did not leave any traces to lead back to the three of them. He proved just how deadly he could be.

Now, years later, Naruto had set up his own panel of advisers. There were representatives of every clan within Konoha. There was also three shinobi elected to represent those that did not have a clan affiliation and three additional individuals elected to represent the civilian population. With this many people having a voice, it had the potential to be difficult to get things accomplished, but for Naruto, it was perfect. He was able to get many different views to help him make decisions within the village.

His advisory council could vote on issues regarding the internal structure of Konoha. However, he also made it clear that in regards to shinobi related activity, the Hokage was still the ultimate authority. There was potential for conflict as there is in every situation, but Naruto made it work.

*************************

Minato and Mikoto had been disappointed to find out that they were going to spend more time in a classroom than anything else. They learned more when they were training with their parents! When they complained to Kaiya-sensei and Iruka-sensei, they were told that every shinobi has to learn what the academy had to teach. Some would learn faster than others and some would need to stay longer than most. It was up to the twins to show their own potential.

Not that that did much for two six-year-olds who believed that they were ready to be shinobi now!

After much playground discussion, the children decided that though it was completely unfair of the adults to enforce school on them, they would suffer through it and show those stupid grown-ups that they had never met anything as amazing as Uchiha-Uzumaki Minato!

"Hn. As if, 'Nato. You're never going to be better than me." His sister made sure to put her younger brother - by forty minutes - in his place.

A smirk that would make any Uchiha proud showed on the young blond's face. "You'll see, Miko."

Mikoto responded with her own smirk. The challenge was on.

Their teacher who had been subtly watching the discussion smiled to herself. She had a feeling that Konoha wasn't going to know what hit it.

*************************

Sasuke had finished his work for the day and decided to stop by a store before he picked up the twins. It was their birthday in two weeks and Naruto and he had been discussing what they were going to get the children. Obviously, Minato and Mikoto were going to get several presents, but their parents wanted something particularly special for them as well. Last night, they had agreed on one of the gifts each of the kids would receive.

Entering the specialized jewelry shop, Sasuke looked around while the clerk was assisting someone else. While he was browsing, his eyes were drawn to one of the display cases. What he saw inside caught his attention for some time.

"Can I help you?" Looking up, Sasuke realized he was now the only one left in the shop.

"Yes, I would like to purchase this," he said indicating the item in the display. Once the object was wrapped and given to Sasuke, he put in the order that his lover and he had decided on. Each of their children would receive on a silver chain a double sided pendant. One side would be the Uchiha crest decorated in white and red enamel. The other side would be Naruto's spiral in orange.

The twins had just recently begun wearing the fan and spiral on their clothes. They had informed their fathers that they were proud of who they are and where they came from. Neither Sasuke nor Naruto saw any reason not to encourage them. They had both been so full of joy from the love and dedication they were given by the kids.

Exiting the store, Sasuke checked the time and was happy to note that he would be right on time to walk the kids home.

Though he had not lost his stoic image, his family had learned to read him like a book. Which is why Mikoto knew just how happy he was to see her and Minato playing with some of the other children out near a swing in front of the Academy when he arrived.

"You two ready?" he asked.

"Hai, Otou-san!" Minato ran up to his side and started babbling about everything they had learned at the academy and all the other students they had met. Sharing a small smirk with his daughter, Sasuke led them away from the school as his son chattered happily and occasionally brought Mikoto into the conversation.

****************************

The memorial stone gleamed in the sunlight as Naruto stood before it paying his respects to the honored dead. So many names and far too many that he recognized. However, for this visit, his eyes found and paid attention to six specific names. People who were part of his family and/or helped to make him the man he was.

_Jiraiya, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, Senju Tsunade, Uzumaki Kushina, Namikaze Minato_

The Rokudaime bowed his head in greeting and then gave them the news of what was going on in the village. He told Jiraiya and Kakashi of a movie sequel being made from the Icha Icha collection and promised to see it and let them know how it was. He assured Tsunade that he was doing a fine job of being Hokage and had even managed not to be drunk while on duty.

For the other three, they were people whom he had not truly known in life, but were undeniably a part of his family. He shared stories of the twins and the various antics they got involved in. He shared his pride and joy with these people who had sacrificed themselves and protected his progeny in the process.

As the sun began to sink in the sky, he promised to return with more stories soon. Bowing again, this time in farewell, Naruto left the memorial to return to his family. Dinner should be ready soon.

A whisper on the wind was all that remained from his passage.

"_Thank you."_

**********************

When Naruto arrived home, he was glomped by his son who proceeded to share with him all the details of his day. Indulgently, he listened as he removed his shinobi sandals and his sleeveless coat with the characters for "Rokudaime" on the back. By the time he was ready to wash up and help with dinner, Minato had been distracted and was with his sister setting the table.

Smiling as he passed his lover on the way to their room, he put his coat in the closet and went into the attached bathroom. When he finished with his business, he was about to exit the bedroom when he noticed something sitting on his pillow.

Approaching it, he took in the silver cord and the small black stone. Picking up the necklace he saw that there were shots of different shades of blue through the dark stone. Cradling his gift in his hand, he turned it over and his breath caught at what he saw.

As tears misted in his eyes he stood in front of the mirror and put on the necklace happy to see that it was the perfect length, falling midway between his collar and the necklace given to him by Tsunade all those years ago.

As Sasuke was setting the rice to cook and putting the vegetables Naruto would be cutting up on the counter he felt his lover enter the kitchen. He would deny that he was nervous to see how Naruto reacted to his gift, no matter how true the accusation might be. However, he would not let that stop him from welcoming the man he loves.

Sasuke turned to his blond and his heart stuttered at the glistening sapphire orbs that shone at him with boundless happiness. He could do nothing but open his arms to the beautiful man.

With his children playing in the background, Sasuke clung to Naruto and closed his eyes to capture the moment. He imagined that he could feel the characters delicately written in gold on the pendant now pinned between their hearts.

'_Eternal Bonds.'_

Owari.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

AN: And that's the end. If anyone's curious, I specifically didn't name the twins' biological mother because I don't believe that it's relevant to the conclusion of the story. You, the reader, can make her whoever you want her to be.

I hope everyone enjoyed and thank you again for all the reviews and support.


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